Towards the end of February 2023, Vanuatu and 18 other States formally uploaded the final Draft Resolution requesting an advisory opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This draft resolution was officially adopted on the 29th of March. Dr. Tracey Kanhanga explains why it was important for African States to co-sponsor Vanuatu’s Draft Resolution and vote for its adoption as well as the potential impact that the advisory opinion will have in strengthening domestic climate change regulatory frameworks.

Africa faces a variety of developmental woes that have resulted in various injustices, including environmental injustice. Stephen Morgan discusses the importance of recognising this injustice and makes a case for a reorientation of what we assume to be our moral responsibility towards the environment using indigenous African values and practices.

Climate change has created a children’s rights crisis which disproportionately affects children on the African continent. Bryony Fox discusses this issue and argues that it is time for a comprehensive children's rights approach to climate change impacts in Africa.

Climate change and the related crime of ecocide have increasingly been the focus of academic and public attention. As once stable weather patterns become more unpredictable and previously rare weather events become more common and more extreme, we are belatedly recognizing that the ecological destruction inflicted on the world around us poses a tremendous threat to not just the natural world, but to humanity as well.

Environmental degradation has become a serious problem in the Sahel, which is disproportionately impacted by climate change, with temperatures rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, and the situation is further aggravated by political instability. It is, therefore, consequential that this entire situation has produced – and is producing – a massive displacement of populations within the region.

Despite being lauded for having one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, South Africa's  climate policies and legislation are arguably retrogressive. This is clear in their central concern for a brand of development that is premised on the historical development trajectories of the Global North. Camilla Hyslop argues that it is time to write an African response to climate change, which is progressive, decolonial and inherently inclusive.

In this post, Louise du Toit examines the South African High Court’s judgement in Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC and Others v Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and Others. It is argued that the judgement highlights the importance of civil society activism and the crucial role of the judiciary in upholding constitutionally protected social and environmental rights.

Climate change is described as the ‘ultimate threat multiplier’. Changes to the natural environment put pressure on social, economic and political systems. As a threat multiplier, climate change exposes and exploits existing vulnerabilities. It worsens pre-existing tensions, weak governance and other socio-economic factors.