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Small island nations want largest emitters to pay for catastrophic effects of climate change

While all eyes are on the big players at COP26, the leaders of two small island states are hoping to make history.

Small island nations are vulnerable to rising sea levels and more intense storms

CBC News ·

Small island nations turn to international court to make major polluters pay for climate change

3 years ago
Duration 7:56
"Small island states are the canary in the coal mine of climate catastrophe...they're tired of empty promises. And, they're going to invoke international law to obtain justice," says international lawyer Payam Akhavan, who represents the two nations trying to make major polluters pay for damages caused to their islands by climate change.

Our planet is changing. So is our journalism. This story is part of a CBC News initiative entitled Our Changing Planet to show and explain the effects of climate change and what is being done about it.

While all eyes are on the big players at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, the leaders of two small island states are hoping to make history.

The Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda and the Pacific nation of Tuvalu say they are being ignored in the fight against climate change, even though their islands suffer disproportionately.

As the Earth's climate warms, small island nations are becoming increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels and more intense storms.

The two countries have signed an agreement and hope to bring the case to an international court.

Their goal is to make the largest emitters pay for the damage being caused to small island states.

Payam Akhavan, an international lawyer representing Antigua and Barbuda and Tuvalu spoke about the plan during an interview on CBC's Power & Politics, which you can watch at the top of this page.

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