"In an effort spearheaded by the tiny Pacific island nation, the ICJ issued a rare unanimous advisory opinion in July, which clarified that all states are required under international law to protect the climate, prevent further harms and have a duty to cooperate. That legal duty to tackle the climate crisis extends far beyond the 2015 Paris agreement, which Donald Trump withdrew the US from on his first day back in office, and any breach of this duty leaves states open to claims of reparations"
"We are on the frontline in the Pacific but no country, not even the US, is insulated from climate change, and we're doing this on behalf of everybody, said Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's minister of climate change. Our main effort now is building an architecture outside of Cop [UN climate talks] using tools like the ICJ advisory opinion, to try and influence the process from outside and force states to comply with their obligations under international law."
Vanuatu is pressing for a UN vote to transform the ICJ's unanimous advisory opinion into concrete political measures that compel states to protect the climate and cooperate internationally. The ICJ clarified that states have a legal duty beyond the 2015 Paris agreement, and breaches could expose states to reparations claims. Vanuatu's minister of climate change emphasized the Pacific's frontline vulnerability while arguing that small states can use the advisory opinion and an architecture outside COP to force compliance. The push responds to climate denial and fossil-fuel promotion by some leaders, while fossil fuel production continues to drive extreme weather globally.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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