1 of 2 | Officials from almost 100 countries are at the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, asking the court to issue an opinion on the responsibility of certain nations to protect the planet from climate change. Photo by Lina Selg/EPA-EFE
Officials from almost 100 countries are at the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, asking the court to issue an opinion on the responsibility of certain nations to protect the planet from climate change.
The legal challenge was initiated last year by the South Pacific archipelago Vanuatu, which initiated the United Nations General Assembly resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the court. Advertisement
“I choose my words carefully when I say that this may well be the most consequential case in the history of humanity,” Special Envoy for Climate Change and Environment for the Republic of Vanuatu Ralph Regenvanu told the court Monday.
Vanuatu was the first country to speak at The Hague Monday, during a process that will run until Dec. 13. The court will hear from representatives from international organizations like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as 98 countries, including the United States and China. Advertisement
“We find ourselves on the frontlines of a crisis we did not create,” Regenvanu told the court, which consists of 15 judges.
The country of approximately 334,000 people and a host of other nations are seeking clarity from the court about the responsibility of “a handful of readily identifiable states,” which they contend are chiefly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate change.
The three greenhouse gases that largely make up our atmosphere all hit record highs last year, according to a report issued this past August by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The NOAA report found increasing levels of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide point to a continuation of rising air and water temperatures.
In the U.N. resolution, Vanuatu argues the larger countries have less to lose from the impacts of climate change than their smaller counterparts.
Last year, Vanuatu was rocked by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by two large cyclones almost simultaneously, leading it to declare a six-month state of emergency.
The idea of posing a legal challenge was first conceived by a group of law students in Fiji.
“This is a moment where we are looking to ensure that states bring the progressive arguments that are centered on human rights, Indigenous People’s rights, intergenerational justice, the lived realities of frontline communities, and on the need for urgent climate justice,” Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change Director Vishal Prasad said in a statement issued by the Center for International Environmental Law. Advertisement
“With these submissions, we can build a basis for a strong, robust opinion that can help unlock climate action and help us urgently course-correct.”
Any opinion issued by the court is not expected to occur until next year and would not be binding. It could however act as a precedent and influence legal cases within individual countries’ judicial systems.
“Our call for an advisory opinion from the ICJ on climate change is at a pivotal moment…one that sets clear the international legal obligations for climate action,” Regenvanu told reporters Monday in The Hague.
In mid-November, the Climate Action Tracker said global warming projections have stalled over the last three years. The independent scientific project’s latest report says the planet remains on-track to warm by 2.7 degrees Celsius.
