The Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore and the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy Durham University, will be co-hosting a two-day conference on 28-29 August 2025 on the theme of ‘Systemic Integration of Climate Change in International Law’.
The Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore and the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Durham University, will be co-hosting a two-day conference on 28-29 August 2025 on the theme of ‘Systemic Integration of Climate Change in International Law’. The conference will bring together scholars, policymakers, and legal experts to discuss recent developments in national and international governance on climate change and identify ways in which systemic integration and coherence can be achieved.
This conference aims to explore how climate change is, or could be, systematically integrated into national and international legal frameworks. This includes an examination of the various dogmatic approaches taken by international courts and tribunals on states obligations in the context of climate change, as well as legislative initiatives. With a view to the sevenths assessment cycle of the IPCC, we want to understand how different disciplines and individual actors can continue to work closely together in addressing the scientific realities of our rapidly changing climate.
The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states with high confidence that rapid, unprecedented, and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary to achieve deep and sustained emissions reductions and secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. Such action is more urgent as previously assessed. Unfortunately, as the outcome of the first global stocktake in 2023 markedly pointed out, Parties are not yet on track. towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. In 2024, studies have shown that on average, the Earth was 1.6° C warmer than pre-industrial times, the first time ever that the threshold of 1.5° C was breached. COP 30 in 2025 will be a pivotal moment and a critical juncture for the climate movement as Parties submit new’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs 3.0) under the Paris Agreement – contributions that should demonstrate more ambition and progress compared to those previously submitted.
Since the conclusion of the first global stocktake, international courts and tribunals have raised their voices on climate change. The European Court of Human Rights and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea confirmed that obligations of States exist outside the core climate change treaties. Submitting an NDC does not discharge fully the obligations that States have under these different international law instruments. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to deliver its advisory opinion on the obligations and responsibility of States with respect to climate change. During the written submission rounds and oral statements, among the many points raised, all States seem to converge at tackling the issue of whether the Court’s deliberation on the question should be restricted to only the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement or if the Court should consider the whole corpus of international law to arrive at its opinion. Among many other contentious points, States expressed different views on whether the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement are lex specialis, and whether the law of state responsibility under the ILC’s Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for International Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA) to climate change can be applied. The international case law on climate change is supplemented by the decisions of national courts, that often reach significance and elicit changes beyond their domestic jurisdiction, sending signals about the possibility of integrating climate change considerations into law.
Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
We invite scholars to submit abstracts considered both for presentation at the conference and for a forthcoming publication on the theme of “Systemic Integration of Climate Change in International Law.” Submissions should abide by the following guidelines:
The conference will be held in-person in Singapore.
Selected abstract presenters are encouraged to self-fund their travel. Limited funding support may be provided to authors of selected abstracts from developing and least developed countries.
Selected abstract presenters will have the opportunity to develop their presentations into papers to be considered for inclusion in a book or a special issue journal publication to be announced forthcoming.
For any questions about this conference, please contact Mr Conrado Maximanuel Cornelius at conrado@nus.edu.sg. We look forward to receiving your proposals.
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