Islands First is a unique nonprofit organization dedicated to helping small island nations protect the Earth's climate and oceans. 

Our climate and oceans are in crisis, and small island nations are on the front lines. Their livelihoods, and in some cases their physical existence are threatened. These countries don’t normally wield much power in global affairs given the modest size of their economies and even smaller militaries. But at the United Nations, they each have an equal seat at the table right alongside the big and powerful - one country, one vote. At the UN, the small islands have a voice. The mission of Islands First is to help amplify that voice. 

And when a highly motivated group of countries chooses to act, the results can be dramatic. It was the islands that made ocean health a global priority for the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, which provided the roadmap for international action for the next generation. And it is the small islands, again with our support, that are working to dramatically scale up the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies - two of the most important solutions to the climate crisis - through a new track of negotiations that they pioneered. Known as Workstream 2 in legal parlance, it was one of the most important achievements at the recent Lima Climate Conference. 

2015 will be a pivotal year; several major international negotiations are scheduled to conclude with new global agreements, including a climate agreement in Paris and a sustainable development agreement at the UN General Assembly. The small islands are fighting for a more sustainable future for all of us. Islands First, with its small team of international lawyers and advisers, is working to make sure they succeed.

Because at the end of the day, we all share the same island.