The top UN court is to take up the largest case in its history today when it opens two weeks of hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact.
After years of lobbying by island nations who fear they could simply disappear under rising sea waters, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice last year for an opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.”
“We want the court to confirm that the conduct that has wrecked the climate is unlawful,” said Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, who is leading the legal team for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
Photo: AFP
In the decade up to last year, sea levels have risen by a global average of about 4.3cm, with parts of the Pacific Ocean rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3°C since pre-industrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels.
Vanuatu is one of a group of small states pushing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis.
“We live on the front lines of climate change impact. We are witnesses to the destruction of our lands, our livelihoods, our culture and our human rights,” Vanuatu’s climate change envoy Ralph Regenvanu told reporters ahead of the hearing.
Any decision by the court would be non-binding advice and unable to directly force wealthy nations into action to help struggling countries. Yet it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits.
From today, The Hague-based court would hear from 99 countries and more than a dozen intergovernmental organizations over two weeks. It is the largest lineup in the institution’s nearly 80-year history.
Last month at the UN’s annual climate meeting, countries cobbled together an agreement on how rich countries can support poor countries in the face of climate disasters. Wealthy countries have agreed to pool together at least US$300 billion a year by 2035, but the total is short of the US$1.3 trillion that experts and threatened nations said is needed.
Fifteen judges from around the world would seek to answer two questions: What are countries obliged to do under international law to protect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? And what are the legal consequences for governments where their acts, or lack of action, have significantly harmed the climate and environment?
The second question makes particular reference to “small island developing States” likely to be hardest hit by climate change.
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