View source for Alliance of Small Island States

{{Short description|Intergovernmental organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| logo = AOSIS logo.svg
| logo_size = 180px
| abbreviation = AOSIS
| headquarters = [[New York City]], New York
| type = [[Intergovernmental organization]]
| membership = 39 members and 5 observers
| leader_title = Chair
| leader_name = Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Pa’olelei Luteru<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chair of AOSIS – AOSIS |url=https://www.aosis.org/about/chair-of-aosis/ |access-date=2024-04-26 |language=en-US}}</ref>
| established = 1990
| website = {{URL|https://www.aosis.org/}}
}}

'''Alliance of Small Island States''' ('''AOSIS''') is an [[intergovernmental organization]] of [[wikt:low lying|low-lying]] [[coast]]al and small [[island country|island countries]]. AOSIS was established in 1990, ahead of the Second [[World Climate Conference]]. The main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices of [[Small Island Developing States]] (SIDS) to address [[global warming]].

These island countries are [[Effects of climate change on island nations|particularly vulnerable to climate change]] and its related effects on the ocean, including [[sea level rise]], [[coastal erosion]] and saltwater intrusion. The members are among the nations least responsible for climate change, having contributed less than 1% to the world's [[greenhouse gas emissions]].<ref name="undp.org" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> These states advocate for international policy and mechanisms for addressing the inequity of climate impacts.

== Organization ==
AOSIS functions primarily as an ad hoc lobby and negotiating voice for SIDS through the [[United Nations]] (UN) system.<ref name="unu.edu">{{Cite web |title=Climate Change Diplomacy and Small Island Developing States - United Nations University |url=https://unu.edu/publications/articles/climate-change-diplomacy-and-small-island-developing-states.html |access-date=2020-11-13 |website=unu.edu |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517151920/https://unu.edu/publications/articles/climate-change-diplomacy-and-small-island-developing-states.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lefale|first=Penehuro Fatu |date=2016 |title=Climate Clubs and the alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) |url=https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19526 |journal=Berlin Conference on Global Environmental Change |pages=2 |doi=10.17169/refubium-23174 |via=Frei Universitat Berlin}}</ref> It has no regular budget, permanent secretariat or formal charter.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Grote|first=Jenny |date=2010 |title=The Changing Tides of Small Island States Discourse - A Historical Overview of the Appearance of Small Island States in the International Arena |journal=Law and Politics in Africa, Asia and Latin America |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=183–186 |jstor=43239555 |doi=10.5771/0506-7286-2010-2-164 |doi-access=free}}</ref> There is a Bureau, which is made up of the chair-person and two vice chairs.<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Nick Heath-Brown |title=The Statesman's Yearbook |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2016 |location=London |pages=45 |isbn=978-1-137-43998-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=[:en]Bureau of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)[:fr]Le bureau d'alliance des petits etats insulaires[:] |url=http://unohrlls.org/about-sids/bureau-of-aosis/ |access-date=2020-11-13 |website=UN-OHRLLS |language=en |archive-date=2018-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125115624/http://unohrlls.org/about-sids/bureau-of-aosis/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

AOSIS also uses partnerships, for example with the [[United Nations Development Programme]] and the [[European Commission]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=About Us – AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States) |url=https://www.aosis.org/about/ |website=www.aosis.org |access-date=2020-11-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Mission ==
AOSIS' core focus areas are [[climate change]], [[sustainable development]] and [[Marine conservation|ocean conservation]].<ref name=":1"/>

SIDS are among the nations least responsible for climate change, having contributed less than 1% to the world's [[Greenhouse gas|greenhouse gas emissions]]. They are particularly vulnerable to its effects, with some islands at risk of becoming uninhabitable due to sea level rise.<ref name="undp.org">{{Cite web |title=Small Island nations at the frontline of climate action |url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2017/09/18/small-island-nations-at-the-frontline-of-climate-action-.html |access-date=2020-11-13 |website=UNDP |language=en |archive-date=2021-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308001039/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2017/09/18/small-island-nations-at-the-frontline-of-climate-action-.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Climate change and small islands: more scientific evidence of high risks |url=https://climateanalytics.org/blog/2020/climate-change-and-small-islands-more-scientific-evidence-of-high-risks/ |access-date=2020-11-13 |website=Climate Analytics Blog |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=1994 |title=Report of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (Art 3) |url=https://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_sids/sids_pdfs/BPOA.pdf |access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Small island developing states in numbers; climate change edition |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2189SIDS-IN-NUMBERS-CLIMATE-CHANGE-EDITION_2015.pdf |access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> AOSIS has consistently raised this threat of uninhabitability created by climate change in climate negotiations.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Ourbak|first1=Timothee |last2=Magnan|first2=Alexandre |date=2018 |title=The Paris Agreement and climate change negotiations: Small Islands, big players |journal=Regional Environmental Change |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=2201–2206 |doi=10.1007/s10113-017-1247-9 |s2cid=158547600 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2018REnvC..18.2201O }}</ref>

SIDS, of which AOSIS is predominantly comprised, account for less than 1% of the global GDP, territory, and population,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-09-19 |title=Island states have had an outsized influence on climate policy |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/international/2019/09/19/island-states-have-had-an-outsized-influence-on-climate-policy |access-date=2020-11-13 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> meaning that individually SIDS hold little political weight in international climate negotiations.<ref name="unu.edu"/> 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.<ref name=":1" />

== 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.<ref name=":2" /> The creation of the alliance marked the beginning of the growth in influence of SIDS in [[politics of climate change|climate politics]].<ref name=":0" /> Despite their size and their relatively small economic and political weight, AOSIS member states have pulled above their weight in climate change negotiations.<ref name=":2" />

AOSIS played an important role in establishing the [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]] (UNFCCC) and was an important actor in the negotiations of the Framework in 1992.<ref name=":2" /> Its advocacy was instrumental to the inclusion of references to the greater vulnerability and special needs of SIDS in Article 4.8 of the UNFCCC.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=1992 |title=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Art 4.8) |url=https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf |access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> However, AOSIS was unsuccessful in its attempts to persuade nations to include commitments to specified greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in the Framework.<ref name=":0" />

AOSIS continued to advocate for the special needs of SIDS during the [[Earth Summit]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]] in 1992<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Chasek|first=Pamela |date=12 August 2005 |title=Margins of Power: Coalition Building and Coalition Maintenance of the South Pacific Island States and the Alliance of Small Island States |url= https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9388.2005.00433.x
|journal=Review of European Community and International Environmental Law |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=132 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9388.2005.00433.x |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref> and the 'special case' of SIDS was recognised in [[Agenda 21]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=1992 |title=Agenda 21 (Article 17.123) |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf |access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Shibuya|first=Eric|date=Winter 1996–1997|title="Roaring Mice Against the Tide": The Pacific Islands and Agenda Building on Global Warming|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2761186.pdf|journal=Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia|volume=69|pages=552–554|jstor=2761186|via=JSTOR}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=1992|title=Agenda 21 (G. Sustainable development of small islands)|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf|access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> Agenda 21 was not legally binding, and some academics contend that the program was too vague to promote meaningful action.<ref name=":0" />

AOSIS did manage to secure the inclusion in Agenda 21 of a call for a global conference on this issue,<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=1992|title=Agenda 21 (Art. 17.130)|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf|access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> which led to the first Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island States, held in [[Barbados]] in 1994.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":0" /> AOSIS played a prominent role at the Conference.<ref name=":4" /> It was the first UN conference entirely devoted to SIDS. The Conference resulted in the translation of Agenda 21 into a more comprehensive programme, the [[Barbados Programme of Action]] on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 1994|title=Report of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States|url=http://www.sidsnet.org/docshare/other/BPOA.pdf|access-date=2020-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213104151/http://www.sidsnet.org/docshare/other/BPOA.pdf|archive-date=2012-02-13}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The five year review of the Barbados Conference, conducted at a special session of the UN General Assembly in 1999, found that the SIDS efforts to make progress towards sustainable development had been limited,<ref name=":0" /> while the ten year review of the Barbados Conference, which took the form of an international meeting in [[Mauritius]] in 2005, found that its implementation was largely unsuccessful.<ref>{{Cite web|date=10–14 January 2005|title=Report of the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States|url=http://www.sidsnet.org/docshare/other/20050622163242_English.pdf|access-date=2020-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306202734/http://www.sidsnet.org/docshare/other/20050622163242_English.pdf|archive-date=2008-03-06}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":2" />

AOSIS has used formal and informal meetings scheduled in advance of UN climate change conferences to raise awareness and political momentum for its mission.<ref name=":2" /> AOSIS has also used the media to raise awareness for its concerns. For example, in the lead up to the [[2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference|2009 UN Climate Change Conference]] (UNFCCC) in [[Copenhagen]], members of the cabinet of the [[Maldives]], an AOSIS member state, held an underwater cabinet meeting to create awareness of the threat that climate change poses to the very existence of the Maldives. The stunt garnered international attention.<ref name="BBC_Splash">{{Cite news |date=2009-10-17 |title=Maldives cabinet makes a splash |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8311838.stm |access-date=2020-11-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-10-17 |title=Maldivas realiza singular junta bajo el mar |trans-title=Maldives holds unique meeting under the sea |url=https://www.eluniverso.com/2009/10/18/1/1430/maldivas-realiza-singular-junta-mar.html|access-date=2020-11-13 |website=El Universo |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Reunión de gabinete bajo el agua |trans-title=Underwater cabinet meeting |url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/el-mundo/reunion-de-gabinete-bajo-el-agua-nid1187695/ |access-date=2020-11-13 |newspaper=La Nación |language=es}}</ref>

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]].<ref name=":4" /> AOSIS had advocated since 2008 for the inclusion of a temperature target to restrain global warming to 1.5&nbsp;°C above pre-industrial levels. Many of the AOSIS member states were present at the Conference in Copenhagen. [[Democracy Now!]] reported that members from the [[island state]] of [[Tuvalu]] interrupted a session of the Conference on 10 December 2009 to demand that global temperature rise be limited to 1.5 [[°C]] instead of the proposed 2&nbsp;°C.<ref>{{cite web |title=Citing Its Survival, Pacific Island of Tuvalu Interrupts Copenhagen Summit to Call for Binding Climate Commitments |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/10/citing_its_survival_pacific_island_of |website=Democracy Now! |date= 2009-12-10 |access-date=2023-12-14}}</ref><ref>
{{Cite report |author=[[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]] (UNFCCC) |year=2011 |title=Conference of the Parties&nbsp;– Sixteenth Session: Decision 1/CP.16: The Cancun Agreements: Outcome of the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (English): Paragraph 4 |url=http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2010/cop16/eng/07a01.pdf#page=2 |format=PDF |location=UNFCCC Secretariat: [[Bonn]], Germany |publisher=UNFCCC |page=3 |quote= "(...) deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required according to science, and as documented in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with a view to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions so as to hold the increase in global average temperature below {{val|2|u=°C}} above preindustrial levels"}}</ref> This advocacy continued in the lead up to the [[2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference|2015 UNFCCC]] in [[Paris]]. AOSIS initiated the negotiating agenda item which would lead to the inclusion of the 1.5&nbsp;°C target and was important in gaining support for its inclusion from vulnerable African and Asian countries and LDC countries.<ref name=":2" /> According to writer and activist [[Mark Lynas]], the inclusion of the 1.5&nbsp;°C target in the [[Paris Agreement]] was 'almost entirely' due to the advocacy of SIDS and other developing countries.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-09-19 |title=Island states have had an outsized influence on climate policy |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/international/2019/09/19/island-states-have-had-an-outsized-influence-on-climate-policy |access-date=2020-11-14 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

At the [[2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference|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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=For Immediate Release: Small Islands Call For Urgency in Warsaw in Wake of Deadly Typhoon |date=11 November 2013 |website=AOSIS |url=http://aosis.org/for-immediate-release-small-islands-call-for-urgency-in-warsaw-in-wake-of-deadly-typhoon/ |access-date=12 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026120745/http://aosis.org/for-immediate-release-small-islands-call-for-urgency-in-warsaw-in-wake-of-deadly-typhoon/ |archive-date=26 October 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite journal | author = Heidari Negin, Pearce Joshua M | year = 2016 | title = A Review of Greenhouse Gas Emission Liabilities as the Value of Renewable Energy for Mitigating Lawsuits for Climate Change Related Damages | url = https://www.academia.edu/19418589 |journal=[[Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews]] |volume = 55 | pages = 899–908 | doi = 10.1016/j.rser.2015.11.025 }}</ref> 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,<ref name=":2" /> which 'recognizes the importance of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage' caused by climate change,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016|title=Article 8 of the Paris Agreement|url=https://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/groups_committees/loss_and_damage_executive_committee/application/pdf/ref_8_decision_xcp.21.pdf|access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> although the article does not 'provide a basis for any liability of compensation'.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015|title=Report of the Conference of the Parties on its twenty-first session(Art.51)|url=https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/10a01.pdf#page=2|access-date=14 November 2020}}</ref> 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 [[Marshall Islands|Republic of Marshall Islands]], [[Palau]], the Maldives, and others.<ref name=":2" />

AOSIS member state Fiji co-hosted the [[United Nations Ocean Conference|UN Oceans Conference]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ocean Conference, 5-9 June, 2017 - United Nations, New York |url=https://www.un.org/en/conf/ocean/about.shtml |access-date=2020-11-13 |website=www.un.org |language=EN}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Richard Roth|title=At first UN Ocean Conference, island nations plead for help|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/world/small-island-nations-un-ocean-conference/index.html|access-date=2020-11-13|website=CNN|date=7 June 2017}}</ref> Fiji also presided over the [[2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference|2017 UN Climate Change Conference]], making it the first SIDS to preside over a UN conference on climate change,<ref name="undp.org"/> although the event took place in [[Bonn]] due to Fiji's remote location, small size and limited infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-11-05|title=Fiji and Bonn, an unusual partnership to host COP23 climate talks|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20171103-fiji-bonn-germany-cop23-united-nations-climate-change-conference|access-date=2020-11-13|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref>

Agreement was reached suddenly at the [[2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference]] (COP28) on the final day. [[Anna Rasmussen (Samoa)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tina Stege: We put our heart and soul into climate negotiations . . . it’s about survival for us |url=https://www.ft.com/content/949c3b6d-4fb0-4df6-95fa-467057c8a536 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=www.ft.com}}</ref>

== 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 the UN, and an additional five states are [[Observer status|observers]]. The alliance represents 28% of the [[developing countries]], and 20% of the [[Member states of the United Nations|UN's total membership]].<ref name=":2" /> Most SIDS are AOSIS members.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shultz|first1=James M.|last2=Cohen|first2=Madeline A.|last3=Hermosilla|first3=Sabrina|last4=Espinel|first4=Zelde|last5=McLean|first5=Andrew|date=2016-01-02|title=Disaster risk reduction and sustainable development for small island developing states|url= |journal=Disaster Health|volume=3|issue=1|pages=32–44|doi=10.1080/21665044.2016.1173443|issn=2166-5044|pmc=5314939|pmid=28229013}}</ref>

AOSIS has a heterogeneous membership with member states spread across many different global regions. While AOSIS' focus is on SIDS, its membership also includes several low-lying coastal countries, for example [[Belize]] and [[Guyana]], and larger islands, for example [[Papua New Guinea]]. Member nations also vary economically, with AOSIS including both wealthy developed nations, such as [[Singapore]], as well as [[least developed countries]] (LDCs), such as [[Haiti]]. Some scholars contend that AOSIS' heterogeneity has weakened its effectiveness, particularly in regard to its lobbying for sustainable development.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chasek|first=Pamela|date=12 August 2005|title="Margins of Power: Coalition Building and Coalition Maintenance of the South Pacific Island States and the Alliance of Small Island States"|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9388.2005.00433.x |journal=Review of European Community and International Environmental Law|volume=14|issue=2|pages=133 et seqq|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9388.2005.00433.x|via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref>

The common factor which unites AOSIS members is their particular [[Climate change vulnerability|vulnerability to climate change]].<ref name=":3" />

== Member states ==
The member states are:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aosis.org/member-states/ |title=Member states |access-date=2019-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401053746/http://aosis.info/aomembers/ |archive-date=2012-04-01 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
In the [[Atlantic Ocean]] (3 countries): 
*{{Flag|Cabo Verde}}
*{{Flag|Guinea-Bissau}}
*{{Flag|São Tomé and Príncipe}}

In the [[Caribbean]] (16 countries):
*{{Flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}
*{{Flag|Bahamas}}
*{{Flag|Barbados}}
*{{Flag|Belize}}
*{{Flag|Cuba}}
*{{Flag|Dominica}}
*{{Flag|Dominican Republic}}
*{{Flag|Grenada}}
*{{Flag|Guyana}}
*{{Flag|Haiti}}
*{{Flag|Jamaica}}
*{{Flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
*{{Flag|Saint Lucia}}
*{{Flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}}
*{{Flag|Suriname}}
*{{Flag|Trinidad and Tobago}}
{{col-break}}
In the [[Indian Ocean]] (4 countries):
*{{Flag|Comoros}}
*{{Flag|Maldives}}
*{{Flag|Seychelles}}
*{{Flag|Mauritius}}

In the [[Pacific Ocean]] (16 countries):
*{{Flag|Cook Islands}}
*{{Flag|Fiji}}
*{{Flag|Kiribati}}
*{{Flag|Marshall Islands}}
*{{Flag|Federated States of Micronesia}}
*{{Flag|Nauru}}
*{{Flag|Niue}}
*{{Flag|Palau}}
*{{Flag|Papua New Guinea}}
*{{Flag|Samoa}}
*{{Flag|Singapore}}
*{{Flag|Solomon Islands}}
*{{Flag|Timor-Leste}}
*{{Flag|Tonga}}
*{{Flag|Tuvalu}}
*{{Flag|Vanuatu}}

{{col-break}}
[[Image:AOSIS members.png|thumb|380px|right|AOSIS members in dark green; observers in light green (as of March 2008).]]

{{col-end}}

AOSIS also has five observers: [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], [[Netherlands Antilles]], [[Puerto Rico]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands]].<ref>{{cite report|title=Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Support Program|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=9 February 2021|page=11|url=https://info.undp.org/docs/pdc/Documents/H70/Prodoc%20amendment%20AOSIS%20-%20Signed%20-%205%20May%2021.pdf}}</ref>

==Chairmanship==
There have been 13 chairs of AOSIS since its establishment, with the Permanent Representative of Samoa, Ambassador Pa’olelei Luteru, as the current chair.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aosis.org/about/chair-of-aosis/ |title=About AOSIS: Chair of AOSIS |publisher=AOSIS - Alliance of Small Island States |access-date=2023-12-11}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Term
! Duration
! Name
! Country
|-
| 1 ||1991 – 1994
|[[Robert Van Lierop]]
|{{flagcountry|Vanuatu}}
|-
| 2 ||1994 – 1997
|Annette des Iles
|{{flagcountry|Trinidad and Tobago}}
|-
| 3 ||1997 – 2002
|[[Tuiloma Neroni Slade]]
|{{flagcountry|Samoa}}
|-
| 4 ||2002 – 2005
|[[Jagdish Koonjul]]
|{{flagcountry|Mauritius}}
|-
| 5 ||2005 – 2006
|[[Enele Sopoaga]] (acting)
|{{flagcountry|Tuvalu}}
|-
| 6 ||2006
|[[Julian R. Hunte]]
|{{flagcountry|Saint Lucia}}
|-
| 7 ||2006 – 2009
|Angus Friday
|{{flagcountry|Grenada}}
|-
| 8 ||2009 – 2011
|[[Dessima Williams]]
|{{flagcountry|Grenada}}
|-
| 9 ||2012 – 2014
|[[Marlene Moses]]
|{{flagcountry|Nauru}}
|-
| 10 ||2015 – 2017
|[[Ahmed Sareer]]
|{{flagcountry|Maldives}}
|-
| 11 ||2017 – 2018
|[[Ali Naseer Mohamed]]
|{{flagcountry|Maldives}}
|-
| 12 ||2019 – 2020
|[[Lois Michele Young]]
|{{flagcountry|Belize}}
|-
| 13 ||2021 – 2022
|[[Walton Alfonso Webson]]
|{{flagcountry|Antigua and Barbuda}}
|-
| 14 ||2022 – 2023
|Pa’olelei Luteru
|{{flagcountry|Samoa}}
|}

== 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=2010 Frederick Anderson Climate Change Award Recipient - Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)|url=https://www.ciel.org/about-us/2010-frederick-anderson-climate-change-award-recipient-alliance-of-small-island-states-aosis/|access-date=2020-11-10|website=Center for International Environmental Law|language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[ACP countries|Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific]] (ACP)
*[[Barbados Programme of Action]] (BPOA)
*[[Climate change mitigation]]
*[[Islands First]]
*[[Least Developed Countries]] (LDC)
*[[World Ocean Conference]]
*[[Politics of global warming]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://aosis.org Official website]

[[Category:Intergovernmental environmental organizations]]
[[Category:International climate change organizations]]
[[Category:Small Island Developing States]]
[[Category:1990 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Organizations based in New York City]]
[[Category:International environmental organizations]]
[[Category:Politics of climate change]]