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Rising seas are endangering the habitability and very existence of several small island nations, mostly in the Pacific and Indian oceans. This is the first book to focus on the myriad legal issues posed by this tragic situation: if a nation is under water, is it still a state? Does it still have a seat at the United Nations? What becomes of its exclusive economic zone, the basis for its fishing rights? What obligations do other nations have to take in the displaced populations, and what are these peoples' rights and legal status once they arrive? Should there be a new international agreement on climate-displaced populations? Do these nations and their citizens have any legal recourse for compensation? Are there any courts that will hear their claims, and based on what theories? Leading legal scholars from around the world address these novel questions and propose answers.
Part I. Introduction:
1. Introduction Michael B. Gerrard and Gregory E. Wannier
2. Sea level rise in a changing climate Mary-Elena Carr, Madeleine Rubenstein, Alice Graff and Diego Villareal
Part II. Sovereignty and Territorial Concerns:
3. When do states disappear? Thresholds of effective statehood and the continued recognition of 'deterritorialized' island states Jenny Grote Stoutenburg
4. The nation ex-situ Maxine Burkett
5. Introducing the law of the sea and the legal implications of rising sea levels Ann Powers
6. Options to secure maritime jurisdictional claims in the face of global sea level rise Clive Schofield and David Freestone
7. Sea level rise and maritime zones: preserving the maritime entitlements of 'disappearing' states Rosemary Rayfuse
Part III. Resettlement Protections and Proposed Solutions:
8. Human rights and climate change: reflections on international legal issues and potential policy relevance Siobhan McInerney-Lankford
9. Refugee and human rights protections for climate migrants in the international system Michele Klein Solomon and Koko Warner
10. 'In the face of looming catastrophe': a treaty for climate change displaced persons and its discontents David Hodgkinson and Lucy Young
11. The national immigration policy options: limits and potential Katrina Wyman
12. Domestic law for resettlement of persons displaced by climate change Leslie Stein
Part IV. Establishing Accountability:
13. Could a small island successfully sue a big emitter? Pursuing a legal theory and a venue for climate justice Jacob Werksman
14. Making good the loss: an assessment of the loss and damage mechanism under the UNFCCC process Ilona Millar, Catherine Gascoigne and Elizabeth Caldwell
15. Ocean acidification: international legal avenues under the UN convention on the law of the sea Dean Bialek
16. Securing planetary life sources for future generations: legal actions deriving from the ancient sovereign trust obligation Mary Christina Wood, Stephen Leonard, Nicola Peart and Daniel Bart
17. Transboundary climate challenge to coal: one small step against dirty energy, one giant leap for climate justice Maketo Robert, Leonito Bacalando, Jasper Teulings, Kristin Casper, Jan Šrytr and Kristina Šabová
Michael B. Gerrard is Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Law School, where he teaches courses on environmental and energy law and directs the Center for Climate Change Law. He is also Associate Chair of the Faculty of Columbia's Earth Institute. Before joining the Columbia faculty in January 2009, he was partner in charge of the New York office of Arnold and Porter LLP, where he continues as Senior Counsel. He is author or editor of ten prior books, two of which were named Best Law Book of the Year by the Association of American Publishers: Environmental Law Practice Guide (twelve volumes, 1992) and Brownfields Law and Practice: The Cleanup and Redevelopment of Contaminated Land (four volumes, 1998). His other most recent books are The Law of Green Buildings (with Cullen Howe, 2010), The Law of Clean Energy: Efficiency and Renewables (2011) and The Law of Adaptation to Climate Change: US and International Aspects (with Katrina F. Kuh, 2012).
Greg Wannier is a judicial clerk for the Hon. S. James Otero on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He largely edited this book while serving as Deputy Director of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. His research has included analyses of EPA regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act and associated litigation, legal mechanisms for adapting to the effects of global climate change, implications of electricity grid reliability protections for energy resource development, the viability of market solutions to climate change, and national and international trade protections, both environmental and security motivated. Greg received his JD from Stanford Law School, where he served as President of the Environmental Law Society and Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Journal of Law, Science and Policy.
