Tunisia, the starting place for the massive protests three years ago that came to be known as the Arab Spring, did something remarkable this week: it embedded climate change into its constitution.

The constitution, praised as one of the most progressive in the region, now obliges the state to “contribute to the protection of the climate … for future generations.” It also says that the “state shall provide the necessary means to eliminate environmental pollution.”

Few words but very important ones, say experts.

“What Tunisia has done is something relatively new in terms of world constitutions … it is a big step,” said David Estrin, a senior environmental lawyer with Gowlings, a large Canadian law firm.

Tunisia, he said, has not only given its citizens the right to ask their government to deal with climate change — it has also “elevated the concept (of climate change) to one of an international law.”

Basically, it could open doors for one country to sue another on climate change, he said, and “eventually allow bodies like the International Court of Justice to act on complaints that one country is causing harm to another by not abating its emissions.”

This is an important step, said Estrin, who has practised environmental law since 1971. “Right now we are almost in a lawless rule when it comes to (climate change).”

Last year, led by Palau, several small island states threatened by rising sea levels came close to asking the International Court of Justice for an opinion on the obligations of historical emitters — the rich nations — regarding global warming.

They did not press ahead with this, but some experts say Palau and other countries are biding their time: they may have a much stronger case in a few years.

Tunisia is the third country to include climate change in its constitution: Ecuador and Dominican Republic are the others.

Tunisia’s parliament has also created a commission for sustainable development and for the rights of future generations, a clear indication that it is worried about the impact of a warming world.

Dhamir Mannai, the Tunisian parliamentarian who proposed the inclusion of the climate amendment, said legislators were concerned about the potential impact a warming world could have on his country.

“This opens the door for legislation for both the environment and climate protection,” he told the Responding to Climate Change blog.

Climate change and its impact are among the significant problems faced by the young democracy. A March 2013 World Bank report said climate change is already damaging people’s livelihoods and well-being in Tunisia and without action, it “will deepen the already significant poverty and unemployment.”

The report said climate change could lead to food insecurity and political instability in that country, just as it did in Libya and Egypt.

A recent study said climate change played a significant role in the Arab Spring. It argued that interplay between climate change, food prices and politics was a hidden stressor that helped fuel the revolutions.

David R. Boyd, an environmental lawyer and professor at Simon Fraser University, notes that over 90 countries have included the “right to live in a healthy environment” in their constitutions. (The U.S., Canada, Australia and Britain are not among them.) The inclusion of the words “climate change” draws more attention to the issue, creating urgency, he said.

Spain and Portugal were among the first countries to put these rights in their constitutions, said Boyd.

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“They signalled to the rest of the world that it was of great, profound human importance,” he said. “Now Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Tunisia are showing us the way forward. They are setting precedents, which will get examined and hopefully followed.”

Boyd, who has been practising environmental law for over two decades, says the Tunisian uprising likely played a role in getting climate change into the constitution.

“I have been in touch with NGOs in Tunisia who were really enthusiastic about including the strongest possible environmental provisions … that would have not been possible in the absence of the revolution.”

Imagine if Canada enshrined climate change in its constitution, says Lynda Collins, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability.

“If we had this kind of provision in the constitution, you could actually take a policy or legislation that is inconsistent to the court and have it struck down,” Collins said. “It could change the country dramatically.”

Among other things, it could mean a transition over time to renewable energy.

Tunisia’s move, said Collins, is “great and will likely be adopted by other countries.”

Estrin said another offshoot of what Tunisia has done is that it could empower climate change refugees.

Few in the West have considered how they will deal with climate change refugees, he said. “People from these countries are going to say, ‘Our country is decimated by climate change, we have nowhere to live, no livelihood, we are going to take a boat to Canada.’ ”

Having climate change provisions in a constitution could be a relevant argument for those refugees, he said. “There is no doubt about that.”

Last November a New Zealand court, rejected a Kiribati man’s attempt to become the world’s first climate change refugee. Kiribati is a Pacific island threatened by rising sea levels.

A judge dismissed the case as “novel” but “unconvincing.”

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