Alliance of Small Island States

AOSIS is recognized as the negotiating voice for SIDS through the United Nations (UN) system. Its highest decision making body is the biannual meeting of the Heads of State and Government of Member States, which sets policy direction and adopts regular Declarations and Communiques. The Plenary of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations takes decisions, which are implemented through a Secretariat hosted at the Permanent Mission of the Chair. == Mission ==

AOSIS' core focus areas are climate change, sustainable development and ocean conservation. SIDS are among the nations least responsible for climate change, having contributed less than 1% to the world's greenhouse gas emissions. They are particularly vulnerable to its effects, with some islands at risk of becoming uninhabitable due to sea level rise. AOSIS has consistently raised this threat of uninhabitability created by climate change in climate negotiations. SIDS, of which AOSIS is predominantly comprised, account for less than 1% of the global GDP, territory, and population, meaning that individually SIDS hold little political weight in international climate negotiations. The aim of AOSIS is to amplify the voices of its members by joining together states which face similar issues. This is to increase their ability to influence climate negotiations and raise awareness for its concerns. == Actions ==

AOSIS has been very active from its inception. It has played a leading role in the global arena in raising awareness on climate change and advocating for action to address climate change. Despite their size and their relatively small economic and political weight, AOSIS member states have pulled above their weight in climate change negotiations. However, AOSIS was unsuccessful in its attempts to persuade nations to include commitments to specified greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in the Framework. and the 'special case' of SIDS was recognised in Agenda 21, the political action plan which resulted from the Summit. AOSIS' proposal to create an 'international insurance fund', funded by developed countries to compensate SIDS for damage caused by climate change, was turned down. In Rio, AOSIS broadened its mandate beyond climate change to also include the sustainable development of SIDS. AOSIS negotiated for the inclusion of a small program area on the sustainable development of small islands in Agenda 21. Agenda 21 was not legally binding, and some academics contend that the program was too vague to promote meaningful action. which led to the first Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island States, held in Barbados in 1994. AOSIS put forward the first draft text in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations as early as 1994. AOSIS member states Fiji and Antigua and Barbuda were the first states to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 1998. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Berlin in 1995, AOSIS advocated very strongly for a commitment to timetables and target measures for climate change. It gained the support of developed nations including China, Brazil, and India. This advocacy continued in the lead up to the 2015 UNFCCC in Paris. AOSIS initiated the negotiating agenda item which would lead to the inclusion of the 1.5 °C target and was important in gaining support for its inclusion from vulnerable African and Asian countries and LDC countries. At the 2013 Warsaw climate change conference, AOSIS pushed for the establishment of an international mechanism on loss and damages stressed by the wreckage of Supertyphoon Haiyan. As the existence of many AOSIS member states are put at risk by climate change, AOSIS has threatened lawsuits. The results of a recent review of the literature show that potential liability for climate change-related losses for AOSIS is over $570 trillion. AOSIS raised this issue again at the 2015 UNFCCC in Paris. AOSIS was instrumental in the inclusion of Article 8 in the Paris Agreement, although the article does not 'provide a basis for any liability of compensation'. As in previous climate agreements, AOSIS members were among the first to ratify the Paris Agreement, with Fiji ratifying first, followed days later by the Republic of Marshall Islands, Palau, the Maldives, and others. Ministers from AOSIS member states, including Fiji, Tuvalu, and Palau used this conference to again raise awareness of the real risk that the impact of climate change poses to the very existence of their nations and to advocate for action to address climate change. Fiji also presided over the 2017 UN Climate Change Conference, making it the first SIDS to preside over a UN conference on climate change, Agreement was reached suddenly at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) on the final day. Anna Rasmussen who was the chief negotiator for AOSIS was shocked to find that the decision had been made while the AOSIS delegation was not present. == AOSIS membership ==

AOSIS has a membership of 39 global states, of which 37 are members of the UN while 2 (Cook Islands and Niue) participate within UN agencies. The alliance represents 28% of the developing countries, and 20% of the UN's total membership. The common factor which unites AOSIS members is their particular vulnerability to climate change. == Member states ==

The member states are: In the Caribbean (16 countries): • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In the Atlantic Indian Oceans and the South China Sea (9 countries): • • • • • • • • • In the Pacific Ocean (14 countries): • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ==Chairmanship==

There have been 15 chairs of AOSIS since its establishment, with the Permanent Representative of Palau, Ambassador Ilana V. Seid, as the current chair. == Honours ==

In 2010, AOSIS was awarded the first Frederick R. Anderson Award for Outstanding Achievement in Addressing Climate Change by the Center for International Environmental Law. In 2022, the Italy-AOSIS Fellowship Programme, an AOSIS-led initiative to train early career diplomats from AOSIS countries received the inaugural UN SIDS Partnership Award in the Social Category. ==See also==