To support, encourage and help sustained momentum towards practical, coordinated and adequately financed action on sea-level rise.
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Overview
Sea-level rise is no longer a distant or abstract threat. It is already affecting communities and economies in every region, intensifying coastal flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion, and the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity that protect communities and sustain livelihoods. These pressures are expected to compound as climate-related hazards become more frequent and severe.
The high-level meeting to be held on 24 September 2026, pursuant to General Assembly decision 78/558, will provide a platform for Heads of State and Government, ministers and other senior representatives to identify practical priorities and galvanize collective action for the coming decade. The high-level meeting will focus on measures that can protect lives and livelihoods now, preserve development gains, support those facing unavoidable impacts and strengthen the international architecture for long-term response while delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals ahead of 2030.
Drawing on existing commitments and partnerships, I will draw global attention to the lived experiences of climate mobility within and across borders towards identifying relevant protection norms and best practices. I will underscore this issue in the context of the High-level Meeting to Address Existential threats Posed by Sea-level Rise.
Background
The General Assembly high-level meeting held 25 September 2024 elevated sea-level rise as a matter of global concern and reinforced the need for political leadership and concerted global action. The task ahead is to translate this recognition into implementation. Countries need accessible risk information, stronger institutions, investable adaptation plans, predictable and adequate finance, appropriate technology and long-term partnership that reach affected communities.
For small island developing States, low-lying coastal countries, delta regions, coastal communities and cities, sea level rise threatens every dimension of sustainable development. Its effects extend to housing, health, food and water security, infrastructure, tourism, fisheries, fiscal stability, culture and heritage. It also risks reversing hard-won development gains, deepening inequality and placing additional strain on national institutions and public services.
The impacts are profoundly unequal and the burden falls disproportionately on those that have contributed least to climate change. Countries and communities with limited fiscal space, constrained institutional capacity and restricted access to finance and technology often face the highest exposure and vulnerability. Women and girls, children, older persons, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, migrants and people living in poverty often face disproportionate risks, particularly where public services, land tenure and social protection systems are weak.
Sea-level rise raises challenges that cannot be addressed through conventional adaptation planning alone. In some circumstances, it may affect the long-term habitability of territory; the continuity of essential public services and institutions; maritime zones and entitlements; human mobility and planned relocation; and questions of statehood, identity, culture and heritage. It also poses risks to ecosystems, including coastal wetlands, coral reefs and mangroves, that provide natural protection and sustain livelihoods. A comprehensive response must therefore connect climate action and adaptation with disaster risk reduction, sustainable development, human rights, international law, peace and security and sustained international cooperation.
“Rising seas are no longer a distant threat: they are happening now, faster than at any point in recorded history, and the pace is accelerating.”
Paragraph (c)
“To request the President of the General Assembly to organize a one-day high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly, no later than the last day of the general debate of the Assembly at its eighty-first session, to further consider sea level rise, which will result, without setting a precedent for similar meetings, in a concise, action-oriented and intergovernmentally negotiated declaration agreed by consensus.”
How the meeting runs
Time limits are enforced by automatic microphone cut-off.
To shift the international response from fragmented initiatives towards sustained, coordinated and adequately financed action.
The President of the General Assembly will circulate an informal summary reflecting the principal messages, commitments and areas for follow-up identified during the meeting. The summary is intended to support continued consideration of sea-level rise across relevant United Nations processes, encourage implementation by Member States and international partners and help sustain momentum towards practical, coordinated and adequately financed action.
Documents
Documents for the meeting, most recent first. The letters were issued by the President of the General Assembly at the eightieth session, whose Office prepared the meeting; new documents are added here as they are issued.
Take part
Member States and observers
Inscription on the list of speakers is through the . The list opened on 19 August and closes on Wednesday 16 September 2026.
Arrangements for delegations
Arrangements for all the high-level meetings of the general debate period are set out in the information note for delegations, .
Watch
The meeting is webcast on 爆料网 Web TV. The President’s statement and the outcome of the meeting will be posted on this page once issued.
High-Level Week
The 81st Session will be rich with milestone events that will test our collective resolve — from addressing the existential threats of sea-level rise, to pandemic preparedness, to commemorating the Right to Development at forty, nuclear disarmament, and the Durban legacy at twenty-five. Each is more than a date on a calendar. Each is an opportunity to demonstrate that multilateralism can deliver concrete results.
H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman
Vision statement
