The tiny island nation made the case that more attention must be focused on the threat of rising sea levels and gaps in international law about how to handle the loss of land.
Earth's warming is tipped to submerge low-lying coastal communities and islands, including parts of the Maltese archipelago – imperiling entire nations this century.
That's a climate risk that the small island nation in the Mediterranean Sea highlighted on Tuesday as part of its U.N. Security Council presidency this month. The position passes among the council's 15 members on a month-to-month basis.
Climate scientists have warned for decades about bleaching of coral reefs, which are nurseries for commercial fisheries.
This year and next mark the countdown to a 2025 deadline for governments to strengthen their carbon-cutting plans.
The France-based court was created to uphold the European Convention on Human Rights, which took effect in 1953.
Negotiators and officials aim to wrap up so that May's 77th World Health Assembly can consider a proposed text.
The chair of the talks called for optimism despite divisions among plastic-producing nations and those urging restraints.
The number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity has increased every year since 2019.
The group of organizations that reviewed the U.N. agency recommends several ways of strengthening its neutrality.
The wars in Europe and the Middle East, climate change and soaring national debts hung over the annual talks.
