Much ink has been spilled by scholars,1 including the present author,2 on displacement associated with climate change, popularly called ‘climate refugees’, recognising the need to address the protection gap relating to them. Despite the recognition in the very first report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that climate change could cause forced displacement of millions of people,3 climate negotiators have been slow (and reluctant) to address the issue.

For humanity and the Earth, it is crucial that present institutions learn to respect and honour the rights of future generations and to consider the needs of those who are yet to come. The rights of future generations are starting to be recognised as an essential part of policy decisions and even as a legal requirement in an increasing number of countries. Indeed, some countries and communities have begun to design innovative instruments to represent the voices of future generations in their policy-making processes, and to better realise these rights. The need to respect and realise the rights of future generations has also been adopted by the international community through treaty law and through the jurisprudence of eminent courts and tribunals such as the ICJ. Indeed, the UNGA now considers the rights of future generations in its global deliberations, and several proposals have been generated among experts for the creation of new international instruments to represent the voices of future generations in global policy making. Perhaps the most concrete form of policy guidance, and arguably the most visible place, for future generations in the UN context is the 2015 SDGs. At this point in time, it is helpful to summarise and analyse the new domestic and international institutions that work to deliver on the rights of future generations. Indeed, surveying the more progressive national innovations and the principal international trends in this domain make new options possible for policy makers wishing to establish novel instruments to adequately protect the rights of future generations at national and international levels.

Sri Lanka recently graduated to an upper middle-income country with a GDP per capita of US$4,102 (2018) and a total population of 21.7 million people.1 Located in South Asia, its recent history is marred by a violent three decades-long ethnic conflict,2 and the Indian Ocean tsunami that affected many parts of the country killing over 35,000 people and displacing over 500,000.3 Political in-fighting, corruption, and nepotism have almost undone its achievements since it gained independence from the British in 1948. From 1983 to 2009, the nation was ravaged by a brutal civil war between its military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), of the ethnic minority Tamils. By the end of the conflict, close to 100,000 people had been killed or disappeared4 and the country had spent over US$200 billion on war costs.5 Its human rights record has had a roller-coaster ride, especially in the context of the armed conflict and its brutal ending.6

In this volume, we examined examples of environmental injustice and unsustainable development from around the world, emphasizing multiple, overlapping forms of subordination and the legal tools used by communities in their struggles to seek remedy and redress. In this concluding chapter, we offer some reflections on moving beyond fragmentation and toward holistic and just solutions. We also provide some clarifications and discuss some of the challenges we encountered as we compiled and edited this volume.

Humanity stands at a critical juncture. It has entered a new geologic era called the “Anthropocene,”1 in which unbridled economic activity threatens irreversible ecological harm. In the name of “development,” human beings have caused massive ecosystem destruction and species extinction, disrupted the planet’s climate, and generated vast amounts of toxic waste – exceeding the assimilative and regenerative capacity of nature.

The prospect of total submergence of small island states due to sea level rise associated with climate change raises several legal issues such as those relating to statehood and nationality, the right to self-determination of the people, and the whole array of rights that would be at jeopardy as a result of states disappearing. Climate change raises profound justice issues – those who contributed most to the problem are not those who will suffer the most, with the poor and the marginalized being disproportionately affected. At the same time, the inhabitants of these countries badly need to “develop.” What does development mean in the context of climate change? What does the social pillar of sustainable development mean for the people of small island states? What is the role of government? What is the responsibility of the international community, especially the major emitters and rich, oil-producing countries to provide climate finance, if not compensation for the damage caused? This chapter seeks to examine some of these questions through a case study of the Maldives. The chapter also sheds light on the role of governance and politics in relation to climate change and sustainable development as its leaders have vacillated between being climate crusaders and promoters of economic development.