UN adopts resolution supporting international court's climate ruling

The UN General Assembly voted to support an ICJ ruling that states have legal responsibilities to act to prevent the climate crisis from worsening. The resolution received support from 141 member states, with eight voting against and 28 abstaining. The vote framed climate change as a matter of law, justice, and human rights, not only politics and economics. Vanuatu’s minister for climate change described the outcome as a victory for communities on the frontlines and said it confirms no state is above obligations to protect people, future generations, and the planet. The ICJ ruling followed extensive written submissions and oral arguments, and it was requested by the UNGA after a consensus resolution led by Vanuatu in March 2023.

"141 UN member states voted in support of the ICJ's finding climate change is an existential threat'. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has voted to support a landmark ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found states have a legal responsibility to act to prevent the climate crisis from worsening. More than two-thirds of UN member states, 141, voted in favour of the resolution on Wednesday, with eight voting no and 28 abstaining."

"Ralph Regenvanu, the minister for climate change from Vanuatu, which championed the case, described the vote as a victory for communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Today the international community affirmed that climate change is not only a political and economic challenge, but a matter of law, justice, and human rights, Regenvanu said in a statement. For vulnerable countries like Vanuatu, this resolution is deeply significant because it confirms that no State is above its obligations to protect people, future generations, and our planet."

"The historic ruling from The Hague-based court in July last year found that states have a legal obligation to act on the existential threat of climate change. The case was the biggest ever to be considered by the ICJ's 15 judges, who reviewed tens of thousands of pages of written submissions and heard two weeks of oral arguments before delivering their verdict. The case came to the court at the request of the UNGA after a resolution led by Vanuatu was adopted by consensus in March 2023."

"Wednesday's vote, by contrast, attracted a number of objections, with Belarus, Iran, Israel, Liberia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Yemen voting no. Al Jazeera reported in February that the US had sent a diplomatic cable urging UN member states not to support the resolution. We are strongly urging Vanuatu to immediately withdraw its draft resolution and cease attempting to wield the Court's Advisory Opinion as a basis for creating an aven"

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