Reply #14: To expand on this a bit

[TechBear_Seattle]

2028: An earthquake causes the unstable WAIS to slip, causing a section of the sheet about 200km long and averaging 200m wide and 140m thick to slip off of the land into the ocean over about 30 minutes time, at around 120 degrees west longitude. The resulting tsunamis hit the North American Pacific Coast hardest, wipe a number of Pacific nations off the globe, and causes massive devastation around the globe. The waves crack the Arctic Ice Cap, exposing the darker water underneath which hastens its melt; the first completely ice-free summer is recorded the following summer.

The reason I want a massive global-warming related disaster is because this prompts 78 nations (including a few that no longer exist, thanks to the disaster) to leave the UN and form the Council of Governments. Over the next four years, more nations do the same; when France and Germany (holders of permanent seats on the Security Council) follow suit, the UN is effectively disbanded. Soon thereafter, the CoG assumes jurisdiction over the treaties of the United Nations, latter on the World Court and, by about 2085, has become the planetary governing body for all intents and purposes.

Sound credible?