27-09-2024
A new exhibition is currently on display in the Peace Palace Visitor Center that demonstrates the consequences of climate change and its direct link to the causes of conflict. The exhibition also showcases the efforts of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC) and the World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) advocating for climate justice through international law.
Correlation between Climate Change and Peace
There is a clear correlation between climate change and peace, or, in other words, there is a link between global warming and the causes of conflict. The consequences of climate change include an increase of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, more frequent flooding, wildfires and droughts. These inevitably lead to the destruction of land and livelihoods, food insecurity and displacement – all of which are factors that promote conflict.
Exhibition Peace Palace Visitors Centre
The exhibition in the Visitors Centre was opened last weekend as part of the International Day of Peace and consists of two main components: a video exhibition and an interactive scale.
The video features four interviews with individuals from climate-vulnerable regions, including Mayotte, Tonga, India, and Pakistan which amplify the voices of those highly affected by extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Accompanying information material provides an overview of the campaigns led by youth organizations PISFCC and WYCJ. The Scale is an engaging data tool allowing visitors to visualize climate inequality, illustrating nations’ contributions to CO2 emissions and their vulnerability to climate change. This digital tool underscores the unequal distribution of climate impacts and highlights the urgent need for global action.
The Visitors Center of the Peace Palace houses the exhibition about climate change until 12 February 2025; it can be visited from Wednesday to Sunday, from 12 noon to 5 pm. Admission is free.
The exhibition was jointly planned and realized by the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) and Interactive Media Foundation (IMF), a non-profit organization specialized in producing educational and cultural projects.
World’s Youth for Climate Justice
On 7 December 2023, World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) was awarded the Youth Carnegie Peace Prize at the Peace Palace for its efforts in advocating for climate justice. It is the global sister organization of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), which was founded in 2019 by 27 law students to raise awareness of rising sea levels and the threat to Pacific islands like Vanuatu. The youth movement is known worldwide for campaigning for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on states’ obligations in relation to climate change.
The jury, which presented the Peace Prize to the youth organization in 2023, declared: “WYCJ is a great example of how young people can cooperate internationally to make a difference. That the work of these young peacebuilders consists of well thought out actions and strategies based on international law is shown in their publications. Their Youth Climate Justice Handbook presents legal arguments to help parties make submissions to the ICJ and ensures that young people’s voices are taken into account during the hearings.”
Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice
On 29 March 2023, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution A/RES/77/276, in which, referring to Article 96 of the Charter of the United Nations and Article 65 of the Statute of the Court, it requested the Court to give an advisory opinion on states’ obligations regarding climate change as well as the legal consequences under these obligations. The public hearings on the request for an advisory opinion are scheduled to open on Monday 2 December 2024.
Photos: Gergely Ofner; World’s youth for Climate Justice