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Court's forthcoming opinion on states' obligations will define climate justice movement, Vanuatu PM says

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • 9 hours ago
  • 3 min read


By Mar-Vic Cagurangan


 The International Court of Justice is set to release on July 23 its advisory opinion that will spell out all nations’ legal obligations to address climate change—a long-awaited judicial action, which Vanuatu considers “a turning point in the fight for climate justice.”


Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat said the forthcoming court opinion, though nonbinding, “could set the world on a meaningful path to accountability and action.”


Jotham Napat
Jotham Napat

During a two-week hearing in The Hague last December, the international court heard 100 oral statements and received 91 written testimonies on the petition lodged by the Vanuatu-backed Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.


The youth group asked the court to shed light on the application of existing international laws to strengthen climate actions.


“This case was born from a spark of hope from Pacific youth who dared to bring the world’s biggest problem before the world’s highest court, and their call was echoed by over 80 nations who stood together to demand climate justice,” Napat said in a statement.


“We sought confirmation that states’ legal obligations extend to their climate-related actions, especially when those actions have caused harm beyond borders,” he added.


Napat said Vanuatu elevated its plea to the international court because existing platforms such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement do not generate prompt actions from state governments.


“We eagerly await the landmark opinion of the world’s highest court on the greatest existential challenge facing our planet: the climate crisis,” Nafat said, noting that the advisory opinion “is not just a legal milestone, it is a defining moment in the global climate justice movement and a beacon of hope for present and future generations.”


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The international court's opinion is anticipated to outline the legal consequences for states that have failed to meet their obligations.


Nafat said a favorable opinion could provide “a powerful tool for courts, communities and negotiators around the world to seek remedies for the climate injustices that have occurred” and could assist vulnerable nations in securing climate finance, technology and damage support.


At the COP29 climate talks last December, countries agreed to a new collective quantified goal for climate finance, targeting at least $300 billion per year by 2035, with developed countries taking the lead in mobilizing these funds for developing countries. 


This new target represents a significant increase over the previous $100 billion per year goal.


But while pledges are made, the delivery is not always guaranteed.


Nafat said the court’s advisory opinion “could help shift the global response from promises to accountability.”


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Vanuatu is among the Pacific island nations facing the most severe impact of climate change.


“For the first time ever, the past decade includes the 10 hottest years on record—and last year was the hottest ever. The United Nations tracked 152 unprecedented extreme weather events around the world in 2024, and this number will continue to grow as climate change continues to intensify,” Nafat said.


“Vanuatu and our fellow small island developing states have long sounded the alarm as the seas rise around us, the storms grow stronger, and the cost of inaction deepens by the day. We have done so not out of fear, but from a place of courage, principle, and conviction that justice must prevail, and that the law must serve those most at risk,” he added.

 


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