sea-levels on “coastal systems and low-lying areas.”23 According to a recent report by a group of United Nations Special Rapporteurs, climate change challenges the ability of peoples in small island states to “continue to live on their traditional territory, and… to enjoy and exercise their right to selfdetermination”. 24 States are obliged to take adequate measures to guarantee the rights of all peoples to self-determination in the face of the looming threat posed by climate change but they have so far failed to do so. The right to development Pursuant to Article 55 of the UN Charter, States should promote “conditions of economic and social progress and development”. The ICESCR and ICCPR emphasize that all peoples should “freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”. The Declaration on the Right to Development presents an integrated framework for the pursuit of all three pillars of the UN Charter – peace and security, human rights and development. It articulates a holistic vision of development as “an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.” The Declaration underscores that people must be the central subjects, active participants, and beneficiaries of development. It articulates that all States and all persons have responsibilities for development and States should work individually and collectively to create an internationally enabling environment for development in which the benefits of development are equitably shared by all. In particular, States should take steps individually and collectively to guarantee all persons the ability to enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development. Climate change poses an existential threat to people’s enjoyment of their right to development. According to World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim “unless the world takes bold action now, a disastrously warming planet threatens to put prosperity out of reach of millions and roll back decades of development”.25 The IPCC found that “limiting the effects of climate change is necessary to achieve sustainable development and equity, including poverty eradication.”26 Importantly, while AR5 stressed the “threat” that is posed to sustainable development by climate change, the report also noted with “high confidence” that “there are many opportunities to link mitigation, adaptation and the pursuit of other societal objectives through integrated responses.”27 Moreover, in the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals, combating climate change (see Goal 13) has been recognized as instrumental to sustainable development, highlighting the importance of addressing climate change and its adverse effects to secure sustainable, inclusive development that benefits all persons. 23 IPCC, AR5, p. 13. Devandas Aguilar et al., The effects of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights (OHCHR, 2015), p. 16. 25 The World Bank, Turn down the heat: Climate extremes, regional impacts, and the case for resilience, p. xii (hereinafter Turn down the heat 2013). 26 IPCC, AR5, p. 17. 27 IPCC, AR5, p. 13. 24 Page 15 of 28