The narrative of global climate change is steeped in extensive inequity and imbalance. All too often, the geography of greenhouse gas emissions fails to align with the distribution of the impacts of climate change. The result: several relatively "innocent," low-carbon communities face a disproportionate amount of the environmental devastation caused by global climate change. This environmental justice concern is particularly resonant in the ever-looming threat of climate-induced displacement for many small island developing states (SIDS) in the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific members of AOSIS (the Alliance of Small Island States) have long served as poster children for potential climate-related migration and relocation; the menace posed to them by a changing climate is pressing in a way that few other states can quite comprehend (1). In the words of Ambassador Marlene Moses of Nauru, "small islands are already experiencing the dire and immediate impacts of climate change, including the inundation of coastal areas, the submergence of islands, loss of freshwater supplies, flooding, drought, damaged crops and increased disease" (2) The IPCC forecasts that just one meter of sea level rise will completely submerge roughly 15% of all Pacific Island States; some, such as Kiribati, already look upon the loss of their homes as inevitable (3). Even in islands safe from complete destruction, such as French Polynesia and the volcanic Cook Islands, nearly all economically viable land lies along their now-endangered coastlines.

Disheartening as the fate of Pacific island states seems, however, victimizing their communities is unproductive. What is constructive is a targeted focus on solutions, adaptation, and sustainable response. A host of renewable energy projects that help manage disaster risk, mitigate climate change, and fund adaptability are already underway in several SIDS, with more still encouraged by the likes of the Climate Institute and the Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative (GSEII).

The notion of climate change migrants is expectedly fraught with complexity—intersecting a host of diverging policy issues, invoking a more human element to the "science" of climate change, and simultaneously sparking much controversy regarding the scope of the problem and the extent to which it should be addressed. The ingenuity of transforming Pacific island states' energy economies is that it cuts through this complexity in a way that provides solutions andpromotes agency to the ostensibly "vulnerable" communities. This is all too valuable at a time when the construction of international climate and migration frameworks seems frustratingly slow.

For the complete article, please see Climate Institute.