Anne Gallagher | Climate justice: Small island states push back | Remark

Small island states are experiencing global warming in ways most of us can hardly imagine.

From the Pacific to the Caribbean, these tiny, already very vulnerable nations are battered by hurricanes and rising sea levels; their shores recede; and salinization ruins agricultural land and compromises vital sources of fresh water. Entire villages and communities are physically moving to higher ground.

For countries like Tuvalu in the Pacific and Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean, the existential risk claims are not alarmist. Rather, they reflect the very real possibility that, along with some of the other 192 nation states in the world, Tuvalu and Antigua and Barbuda will not exist in physical form in just a few decades. And this is not the only path to disaster. Because they lack the capacity to absorb large shocks, a single severe weather event in a small island state can wipe out livelihoods and decimate the economy.

“Some countries will sink while others swim. “

The global diplomatic discourse around climate favors a false equivalence, a mantra that we are all responsible, that we are in the same boat. But it’s wrong. Some countries will sink while others swim. Some countries are much more responsible than others for the degradation of the climate. Some continue to enrich themselves knowing full well that they are causing real and lasting harm.

On the first day of the COP26 climate summit, Tuvalu and Antigua and Barbuda took a small but important step towards climate justice. Neck and neck, the prime ministers of these two small nations announced the creation of a Small Island States Commission on Climate Change and International Law.

MOMENTARY DEVELOPMENT

This is a capital development. Until now, international law has not been used consistently or effectively to hold countries to account for the damage they have inflicted on others through practices that contribute to global warming. This despite well established principles such as “polluter pays”; a dense network of rules which assign responsibility for foreseeable damage and demand that it be remedied; and a network of courts and tribunals that exist to enforce these laws and hold violators to account.

The hope is that all countries in positions similar to Tuvalu and Antigua and Barbuda will join the Commission. The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), an intergovernmental body that brings together low-lying small coastal developing States, is essential here. The alliance has helped bring its members to the big table: by amplifying the voices of those who would otherwise be sidelined. AOSIS member states understand very well the problem of false equivalences. They are starting to reject handouts, demanding instead debt relief and equitable access to vital finance for mitigation and adaptation as a right. They are now going even further: they are threatening, in very clear terms, to bring their claims for loss and damage to international courts and tribunals.

“They will no longer wait patiently while the promises of the rich and powerful are broken.”

The issue of liability and compensation for loss and damage associated with global warming has long been a sticking point in climate diplomacy and a focal point for civil society advocacy. Despite pressure from AOSIS members, the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC) did not include any meaningful recognition of loss and damage. Subsequent efforts by States Parties to the UNFCCC to address this gap have been modest and largely unsuccessful.

The announcement of an International Loss and Damage Commission – established outside the formal “system” – should be taken as a clear sign that the small island developing countries of the world have had enough. They will no longer be lectured on the need to reduce their own meager carbon emissions when archaic development finance rules hamper their access to vital funds. They will no longer wait patiently while the promises of the rich and powerful are broken. They will no longer claim to be content with vague commitments and empty promises.

For Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda and Prime Minister Kausea Natano of Tuvalu, now is the time to use the sharp tools of international law to hold those most responsible for global warming to account. They deserve our respect and support.

Anne T. Gallagher AO is Executive Director of the Commonwealth Foundation. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com