Reacción a "The International Court of Justice will issue its advisory opinion today on countries' obligations to address the effects of climate change"

States actions to respond to the climate crisis over the past few decades have not curtailed the rise in greenhouse gases, resulting in ongoing severe impacts on people, communities and livelihoods. As is known and accepted, it is particularly the developing countries and, in our region, the nations of the Pacific who are most challenged.

"As we await the advice of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on States' obligations to climate change, I reference the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed to in 2015, particularly SDG 13 on climate action. I would expect to see the ICJ clarify to States the importance of a global partnership and that to preserve our environment is dependent on reducing social disparities, upholding human and Indigenous rights, and the need for a real push to have climate and environmental impacts as an integral consideration of development initiatives and policy. For some time, developing countries have been pushing for State responsibility and liability on loss and damage mechanisms and we should expect to see the ICJ force a stronger position on States in this regard as well.

"We await the guidance of the ICJ with hope and pay tribute to Vanuatu who spearheaded this process to hold major polluting countries to account.