People of Pacific island countries are calling on the world to take action against climate change (Photo: PINA)

The move aims to force countries to further increase measures to prevent, reduce, and control marine pollution. This is a first-of-its-kind climate justice case that focuses on protecting the oceans.

According to representatives of the Pacific island countries, severe weather events are increasing in both quantity and intensity each year, seriously affecting people's lives and destroying the infrastructure of small island states.

All the marine and coastal ecosystems are being damaged by increasingly warmer and more acidic waters. Climate change is causing sea levels to rise rapidly, threatening to submerge some Pacific island nations.

In that context, Pacific island countries believe that countries with high emission must act more responsibly and practically, not just by making calls and creating unclear research funding packages.

The Committee on Climate Change and Pacific Island International Law (COSIS) is in charge of this lawsuit.

The lawsuit is expected to increase pressure and create an environmental protection movement, forcing the world's leading industrial nations to reduce emissions necessary to meet their commitments under the Paris climate agreement.