Can a state exist without territory? Experts: in times of climate change – yes

The ILC experts also state that states affected by the effects of rising sea levels should also remain subjects of international law, in order to avoid, among other things, the loss of citizenship by their inhabitants. According to the lawyers, this is crucial to "maintaining peace and stability in the international arena."

The experts emphasize that their analysis "is driven by a sense of injustice." "It is precisely the smallest and most endangered countries, which have contributed the least to climate change , that will suffer the most. Studies show that as much as one third of the sea level rise is the result of emissions from just 122 of the world's largest companies - producers of fossil fuels and cement," said Penelope Ridings, a lawyer and member of the ILC, during the UN conference on oceans, which took place in Nice, France.

Climate justice in times of climate change

One of the countries that are sounding the alarm the most when it comes to climate change is Tuvalu – a country located in the Pacific Ocean in western Polynesia, north of Fiji. As a result of climate change and the associated rise in sea levels, Tuvalu could soon – according to UN research by 2050 – be largely underwater.

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Scientists point out that the country is one of the most climate-threatened places on Earth. According to experts, the archipelago could become uninhabitable within the next 80 years. What's more, two of the nine coral atolls that make up the country have already been largely swallowed by the ocean.

“We are drowning,” Tuvalu’s foreign minister said at COP26 in 2021. He delivered his speech while standing knee-deep in water.