Photo: Tuvalu Foreign Ministry/Reuters.
Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon Kofe in 2021 making a point as he gives his address to the international climate convention Cop26.
Climate change has been making itself known to most of us in early blooming seasons and the increased number of wildfires. But we don’t necessarily feel in our guts that this is really a moment that will determine if our country continues to exist.
Unless we live in a place like Tuvalu, an island gradually, and then not so gradually, sinking into the sea.
An article at the Guardian proposes that when the inevitable happens, countries like Tuvalu must find a way to keep their statehood.
Isabella Kaminski writes, “States should be able to continue politically even if their land disappears underwater, legal experts have said.
“The conclusions come from a long-awaited report by the International Law Commission that examined what existing law means for continued statehood and access to key resources if sea levels continue to rise due to climate breakdown.
“Average sea levels could rise by as much as [3ft] by 2100 if climate scientists’ worst-case scenarios come true, and recent research suggests they could even exceed projections. This is particularly important for small island developing states because many face an existential threat. …
“Having waded through international law and scholarship and analyzed state views and practices, legal experts concluded that nothing prevents nations from maintaining their maritime boundaries even if the land on which they are drawn changes or disappears. These boundaries give countries navigation rights, access to resources such as fishing and minerals, and a degree of political control.
“There is also general agreement that affected nations should retain their statehood to avoid loss of nationality. Legal experts say these conclusions are essential for maintaining international peace and stability.
“Speaking at the UN Oceans conference in Nice, Penelope Ridings, an international lawyer and member of the ILC, said the commission’s work was driven by the ‘fundamental sense of injustice’ that sea level rise would be felt worst by the most vulnerable states, which had also contributed the least to the problem. …
“The Pacific nation of Tuvalu has been particularly vocal in its concerns. Sea levels on its nine islands and atolls have already [risen] and are expected to get much higher over the coming decades.
“Australia was the first country to recognze the permanence of Tuvalu’s boundaries despite rising sea levels. In 2023, it signed a legally binding treaty committing to help Tuvalu respond to major disasters and offering special visas to citizens who want or need to move. Nearly a third of citizens have entered a ballot for such a visa. Latvia followed with a similar pledge of recognition.
“At the oceans conference, the Tuvaluan prime minister, Feleti Teo, said his citizens were determined to stay on their land for as long as possible. The government has just finished the first phase of a coastal adaptation project, building concrete barriers to reduce flooding and dredging sand to create additional land. …
“He urged Tuvalu’s development partners to be ‘more forthcoming in terms of providing the necessary climate financing that we need to be able to adapt. And to give us more time to live in the land that we believe God has given us and we intend to remain on.’ …
“Bryce Rudyk, a professor of international environmental law at New York University and legal adviser to the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), said the ILC had been very responsive to small states, which have traditionally not had their voices heard in matters of international law but are increasingly at the forefront of legal advances on climate change and marine degradation.
“In recent years, Aosis and the Pacific Islands Forum have both declared that their statehood and sovereignty, as well as their membership of intergovernmental organizations such as the UN, will continue regardless of sea level rise.
“The international court of justice [was] petitioned by Aosis to affirm this.”
More at the Guardian, here.
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