The leaders of nine small island states turn to the UN maritime court to seek the protection of the world's oceans from catastrophic climate change, which threatens the existence of countries like theirs. "There is nowhere else for us to go" says Arnold Loughman, the Attorney General of Vanuatu, "this is about our livelihood". The states are asking the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to determine if carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by the oceans can be considered pollution. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES of the press conference of islands' leaders