Vanuatu is keen to accelerate global efforts on climate change and is leading efforts to involve the International Court of Justice, a move praised by activists at UN talks.
The COP27 climate summit in Egypt was marked by calls for nations to redouble their efforts to cut emissions and for rich polluters to finally provide the money developing countries need to deal with global warming.
Threatened by rising sea levels, the tiny Pacific island of Vanuatu signaled last year that it would seek a non-binding “opinion” from the Hague-based International Court of Justice.
A year later, the initiative was officially launched at the UN General Assembly, which will have to vote on whether to support it over the next few months.
“I say drop the hammer. Let the judges inspire our leaders to act and let justice be done,” said Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate at the COP27 meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Speaking to about 100 world leaders attending a summit on Tuesday, Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu said the initiative has grown into a coalition of 85 countries.
“Something is clearly not working,” Vurobaravu said, noting that emissions are rising, climate finance remains “utterly inadequate” and the ambitious goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius may not be met.
“I urge the leaders here at COP27 to vote for the International Court of Justice resolution in the UN General Assembly so that we can finally put human rights at the heart of climate decisions,” Vurobaravu said.
– “So Much Excitement” –
Vanuatu Ambassador to the UN Odo Tevi said the aim was to “clarify the rights and obligations of states under international law regarding the adverse impacts of climate change”.
Vanuatu also wants the International Court of Justice to “clarify the due diligence requirements related to climate action for greenhouse gas emitters – past, present and future,” he said.
The issue could anger developed countries, which historically have been the largest emitters of greenhouse gases but reject the idea of ??paying reparations to developing countries for losses caused by natural disasters.
The issue of “Loss and Damage” is at the forefront of the COP27 talks, which are due to end on Friday.
Yeb Sano, executive director at Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said Vanuatu’s efforts have generated “so much excitement” and global support.
“The international community needs clear goals, and this campaign is a beacon of hope that has the power to breathe new life into multilateral negotiations,” Sano said.
– “A Matter of Survival” –
A similar effort more than a decade ago by another Pacific island, Palau, failed. But times have changed, with a series of climate-related disasters this year underscoring the urgency the planet faces.
Although an ICJ legal opinion would not be binding, Vanuatu hopes it will shape international law for generations to come.
Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, assistant professor of international law at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said the International Court of Justice can provide “legally relevant guidance” that courts around the world are “very likely to follow”.
While the Paris Agreement’s emissions reduction targets are not binding, she said an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice could signal that there are “legal obligations to take action on climate change and legal consequences if those obligations are breached”.
Perhaps more importantly, she added, an opinion from the International Court of Justice could “inspire governments and big companies to take more ambitious action on climate change.”
Harjeet Singh, a senior adviser to the Climate Action Network, said the International Court of Justice hearings on the issue would create “a lot of awareness” about climate change.
“It’s a matter of survival,” he told AFP.
