12 MARCH 2013
New York, March 11, 2013—As rising seas endanger the habitability and existence of several small island nations, they are also triggering a host of legal complications, according to a new book co-edited by Columbia Law School Professor Michael B. Gerrard, the Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice who enlisted many of the world’s leading thinkers to propose solutions to such problems. Gerrard is director of the Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law.
The book, Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate (Cambridge University Press), addresses complex questions stemming from the rising sea levels, including whether the islands, mostly in the Pacific and Indian oceans, could continue as nations if they are submerged; where their citizens would relocate and how; and who would be responsible for that process.