The prime ministers of two small island nations that face ongoing impacts from rising sea levels will appear at legal hearings at an international court in Hamburg, Germany, on Monday, and seek an advisory opinion on the obligations of countries to combat climate change.
Prime Ministers Kausea Natano of Tuvalu and Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda will give evidence at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which will consider whether carbon emissions absorbed by the ocean should be considered marine pollution, and what obligations nations have to protect the marine environment.
The prime ministers, representing the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law , will argue that countries have an obligation to protect the marine environment under the UN convention on the Law of the Sea, including from greenhouse gas emissions. Excessive carbon pollution results in damage to the oceans, including coral bleaching and acidification.