The leaders of two small islands that are being affected by rising sea levels to go to a court in Germany to get advice on what countries should do to fight climate change.
Prime Ministers Kausea Natano from Tuvalu and Gaston Browne from Antigua and Barbuda will share information at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. They will discuss if carbon emissions that the ocean absorbs should be seen as pollution, and what responsibilities countries have to safeguard the marine environment.
The tribunal will give an advice, which is not legally required to be followed, but provides a trustworthy statement on legal matters that could help countries when making laws to protect the climate.
The leaders of the Small Island States will say that countries must protect the ocean from greenhouse gases according to the UN Law of the Sea.
“We urgently need help because we believe that international law is important in fixing the unfairness caused by climate change that our people are facing,” said Natano from Tuvalu.
Too much carbon pollution hurts the oceans, causing problems like coral bleaching and acidification.
Islands like Tuvalu and Vanuatu that are close to the water level might go underwater because of the long-term effects of climate change by the end of this century.
Small island countries have also asked other courts for clear legal rules regarding their responsibilities regarding climate change. Vanuatu asked the International Court of Justice to provide their opinion on what countries should do about climate change.
The UN General Assembly voted in March to send the case to the ICJ. The ICJ will give its opinion in 2024.
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Island states to ask Law of the Sea for climate protection
