Securitising Climate Change: Pacific Island States as Norm Entrepreneurs in the UN System

Abstract

From extreme storms, coastal erosion, to marine ecosystem collapse, Pacific Island states are at the frontline of climate change disruption. Despite their limited material power, Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) have emerged as one of the earliest and most influential actors to engage with the climate change issue. In the UN arena, PSIDS have shaped global climate responses by securitising climate change, proposing binding emission targets, and securing consensus on global warming limits.

This article engages with international relations theories on the framework of the United Nations (UN) system, the constructivist theory of norm formation, and the Copenhagen School’s theory of securitisation to examine how the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) have advanced climate security norms within the UN system and steered global climate responses. Using case studies including the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement, the article argues that the PSIDS’ success in exerting disproportionate influence over UN climate agreements should be credited to their skilful leveraging of norm entrepreneurship, and their procedural excellence at forging broad coalitions under their normative authority. The article proposes that the PSIDS campaign illustrates an alternative pathway through which small States can exert meaningful influence in global climate governance, despite the enduring power asymmetries of the international system.