From small islands to the world’s top court | Patrick Toussaint | TEDxMiddlesex University Mauritius

Drawing on the MV Wakashio oil spill in Mauritius, this talk highlights the challenges of securing justice and holding polluters accountable. It explores how the fight for climate accountability grew from the experiences of small island communities facing environmental harm and climate change. Dr Patrick Toussaint traces the remarkable journey of Pacific Island students who transformed climate change from a political issue into a legal one by bringing it before the International Court of Justice. Their campaign resulted in a landmark opinion clarifying governments' legal obligations on climate action and accountability. Dr. Patrick Toussaint is an international environmental lawyer specialized in climate justice, human rights and key thematic issues such as biodiversity, clean air, plastic pollution and sustainable development. He has extensive experience with inter-governmental environmental negotiations, policy research, and governance, working across international organizations, research institutions, and advocacy spaces. He holds a Doctor of Laws in international climate law from the University of Eastern Finland. His doctoral thesis examined human rights-based approaches to climate action, focusing on loss and damage, legal responsibility, and pathways for advancing climate justice through international law. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx