Small island developing states (SIDS) are portrayed as icons of climate change impacts, with
assumed islandness characteristics being used to emphasise vulnerability. Meanwhile, island
resilience expressed as the stability of island “paradises” is said to be undermined by climate
change. Two dominant counternarratives have been emerging. Physical science demonstrates
the limited empirical evidence at the moment for SIDS being destroyed due to climate
change. Notwithstanding that such empirical evidence could appear in the future, social
science counternarratives are challenging notions of SIDS’ peoples inevitably fleeing their
homes as climate refugees. Instead, SIDS’ peoples have strong abilities and desires to make
their own mobility decisions, whether due to climate change or other impetuses.
Consequently, islandness within SIDS’ climate change narratives is not necessarily
problematic, but instead can help islanders address climate change and wider challenges. The
counternarratives, even if not entirely contradicting the dominant narratives, provide needed
nuances, balance, and contextualisation to provide a full picture of SIDS, islandness, and
climate change.