Climate Change And The Statehood Of Small Island State

Climate change has brought about various impacts worldwide; especially the sea-level rise caused by the global warming will influence the low-level small island states dramatically. These influences include endangered territory of the island states and the deterioration of living environment as well as the decrease of fresh water resource. Since the global warming is irrevocable, small island states have to adapt to the climate change and related impacts. The adaptation measures include en mass relocation to a new territory after its own territory becomes uninhabitable. Given the dramatic changes of territory, the statehood of small island states might be challenged. The international community is obliged to cooperate with the small island states to cope with the harmful caused by the climate change.The legal measures of climate change have been changed from early mitigation to the balance of mitigation and adaptation. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol all aimed at mitigating the climate change by setting mitigation goals for developed countries. However, except from EU, almost other countries all failed to reach their goals. At the same time, the Conferences of the Parties completed a series of action plans and guidelines for adaptation to climate change. The birth of Cancun Adaptation Framework marked the completion of the action framework of adaptation. It is in Cancun Adaptation Framework that planned relocation was regarded as an example of adaptation to climate change.If small island state took the measure of en mass relocation to adapt to climate change, then the international community has the obligation to cooperate with it. Such cooperation obligations originate from two resources. First, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community shall provide fund to small island states; second, the international community is obliged to protect the human rights of the small island state and its nationals, including the right to self-determination enjoyed by the small island state and the individual human rights enjoyed by the nationals. However, these cooperation obligations are in the development and need further conventions and treaties to implement.Even if the small island state undergoes territorial change after en mass relocation, its statehood will remain the same. It can be concluded that possible criteria of state extinction include merger of governments of two states and the recognition of the international community. Dramatic change of territorial change is not the criterion of state extinction. On the other hand, the criteria of state continuity include keeping the same government and nucleus territory after certain changes of statehood criteria and the claim of continuity as well as the recognition of such claim. In the case of en mass relocation, although the nucleus territory of small island state has changed, it can maintain its statehood because underlying theory of the presumption of state continuity is keeping the stability of the international community. To keep the stability of international community, the statehood of small island state should remain the same.