Climate change is increasingly driving displacement through sea-level rise, extreme weather events and environmental degradation, often in already fragile contexts. This panel explores how law, policy and international responsibility are evolving in response to the climate crisis. Participation is possible online and in person at VU Amsterdam.
Beyond the 2025 ICJ Advisory Opinion
International protection frameworks have not fully adapted to the reality of climate displacement. Current refugee law was not designed with climate impacts in mind, leaving many people displaced by environmental harm outside clear legal protection.
However, recent international developments, most notably the 2025 Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), have sparked new discussion. Can broader legal principles, such as non-refoulement (the rule that states should not return people to serious harm), offer protection in climate-related cases?
In this edition of the SDG Academy, the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (ASI) and the Global Migration Hub bring together experts to examine the intersection of climate modeling and international law. We will discuss when adaptation reaches its limits, making displacement unavoidable, and whether the "Court has spoken" clearly enough to establish new customary international law.
What do these legal and ecological shifts mean for the future of international protection and global responsibility? Our panel of speakers will provide expert analysis and scientific background information.
- Prof. Elspeth Guild Global professor of Social Justice, Law School University of Liverpool and Emerita Professor of Law Radboud university.
- Prof. Kushagra Pandey (Institute of Environmental Sciences VU) will present model-based research on how flooding and sea-level rise influence migration decisions, highlighting the point at which adaptation reaches its limits and displacement becomes inevitable.
The session will be moderated by Dr. Janna Wessels (Amsterdam Center for Migration and Refugee Law VU), who will guide the panel through the changing landscape of policy and international responsibility. These short presentations will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
This SDG Academy will be taking place in-person and online on Teams. For those based in and around Amsterdam, join us at the Green Office VU from 16:00 onwards on May 27th.