On September 11^th, Prime Ministers Kausea Natano of Tuvalu and Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda presented opening statements at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Germany. The two leaders serve as co-chairs for the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (C.O.S.I.S.), a newly established global agreement aiming to protect island states and the oceans they depend on by establishing legal frameworks for climate protection. The commission has made it clear that it will not be satisfied by empty promises and continued inaction in the face of climate change, instead seeking legal pathways to hold major polluters accountable.

In their statements, the prime ministers denounced major polluters and emphasized that the current climate situation is a direct consequence of these nations’ failure to reduce emissions. Despite their negligible contributions to global emissions, the small island states argue, they disproportionately bear the blunt of climate change’s adverse effects. Now, these states want major polluters to “be held accountable for the harm they have caused and continue to cause.”

Specifically, C.O.S.I.S. wants the Tribunal to issue an advisory opinion on whether states are legally obligated to reduce CO² emissions. Rather than creating new legislation, the commission hopes the Tribunal will clarify obligations previously established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (U.N.C.L.O.S.), which mandates that states reduce pollution to the best of their capabilities. Greenhouse gas emissions, C.O.S.I.S. argues, constitute a form of pollution that severely damages marine ecosystems through ocean acidification, as well as threatening human and economic life on the small islands the bloc represents. Rising sea levels have not only salinated freshwater resources and exacerbated food and water insecurity, but also are putting entire islands (like Tuvalu and Vanuatu) at risk of potential submersion by the end of the century.

In addition to this case, C.O.S.I.S. led efforts in the U.N. General Assembly to issue a resolution for the International Court of Justice to make nations’ emission reduction pledges legally binding.

The Commission’s mission aligns with broader global acceptance of the existence of climate change, as well as the threat it presents. Its existence may also be a crucial indicator of the future of climate negotiations, particularly what happens when more vulnerable nations attempt to hold developed, major-polluting nations accountable.

The court has received written statements from over 30 countries and 9 inter-governmental organizations, which will continue to testify in the CO² case over the coming weeks. However, even a favourable decision could result in another of the “empty promises” C.O.S.I.S. hopes to avoid, because while U.N.C.L.O.S. establishes legally binding commitments, it lacks specific policies for enforcement. Regardless of the trial’s outcome, C.O.S.I.S. will need to continue its climate protection activities.