Small island states in the Pacific are at the forefront of significant climate change questions. Many face the potential of territorial loss or uninhabitability due to sea level rise. Territory is one of the most consequential and accepted components of sovereignty (i.e., self-government) in the international system. As states face losing their culture, community, land, and livelihood, they also face losing their government’s voice—their ability to advocate for their people and their interests on the international stage. While authority over a clear territory has been a component of sovereignty for hundreds of years, sovereignty has become more flexible over time, especially since the United Nations (U.N.) was founded. This Note argues that, relying on the history of flexibility with the definition of sovereignty, the international community should support states in keeping their seats at the international table despite lost or uninhabitable territory. While some of the proposed solutions may challenge the status quo, the drastic impacts of climate change require novel solutions and international cooperation. This Note will proceed by first discussing the consequences small island states are facing because of climate change, including food scarcity, water shortages, and floods, as well as the push for migration as these issues worsen. Next, it will explore traditional notions of sovereignty and the international system’s flexibility towards infringements on the traditional definition. Lastly, the Note will discuss five potential solutions and scenarios for small island states’ sovereignty to persist: adaptation, artificial islands, deterritorialization, remedial territory, and placeholders. Ultimately, the elements of sovereignty are flexible and should be expanded to allow small island states to retain sovereignty in whatever pathway they view as most suitable to the needs of their citizens in the face of this novel threat.

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