The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg will present a legal opinion on Tuesday on the extent to which states are obliged by international law to take stronger measures in the fight against climate change.
The opinion was requested by a group of nine small island states in the Pacific and the Caribbean. The countries all see their existence threatened because sea levels are rising due to global warming.
The core issue is whether states are obliged by international law, such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions more than is regulated in the Paris Agreement, said the chairman of the Climate Change Commission of the group of island states, Payam Akhavan.
While the report is not binding, he believes it will have "a significant influence" on how courts will rule on climate issues in the future.