The Eighth Melbourne Forum on Constitution Building in Asia and the Pacific

CLIMATE CHANGE AND CONSTITUTION BUILDING

Eighth Melbourne Forum on Constitution-Building in Asia and the Pacific

Jointly organised by:

International IDEA's Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific

Constitution Transformation Network at Melbourne Law School

Policy and Law Center for Environmental Sustainability of the National Taiwan University College of Law

Climate change is the defining global challenge of our time. It directly affects the lives and wellbeing of peoples across the globe. If it is unaddressed, climate change will deepen existing inequalities within and between states. Increased severity of natural disasters will challenge the capacity of governments and threaten human security. For some, climate change is an existential threat, leading to the displacement of peoples and even the loss of territory of nation- states. At the local, national, regional and international levels, governments are called upon to urgently address the severe and worsening consequences of climate change and to mitigate future harms.

The Eighth Melbourne Forum on Constitution-Building in Asia and the Pacific will consider the constitutional challenges presented by climate change and opportunities to address the causes and effects of climate change. The Melbourne Forum will focus on Asia and the Pacific, a region highly affected by climate change, although with important variations between countries and sub- regions in relation to vulnerability, capacity and response.

The Forum is jointly organised by International IDEA’s Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific, the Constitution Transformation Network at Melbourne Law School, and the Policy and Law Center for Environmental Sustainability (PLES) of the National Taiwan University College of Law. It will take place over two days, 23 and 24 May 2024, followed by the Taiwan Roundtable on 25 May 2024, at the National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. The event is sponsored by the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan and International IDEA’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Visit the Melbourne Forum webpage to see the themes, materials and videos from the previous seven Melbourne Forums.

The Melbourne Forum is by invitation only, but International IDEA experts are available for media engagements. Please contact Billie Phillips: k.phillips@idea.int