AFP, SYDNEY
Five Pacific island nations yesterday plotted how to prosecute a pivotal UN court case that aims to hold climate-polluting countries to account.
The International Court of Justice is to start hearings on Dec. 2 in a case that would test countries’ climate obligations and whether they can be sued for failing to act.
Vanuatuan Attorney-General Arnold Kiel Loughman yesterday told reporters that the case was “important” and could give small island states more leverage to force change.
Map of island nations threatened by sea level rise, showing potentially submerged land by 2100.
Photo: AFP
He met this week with his counterparts from Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu to discuss the case, prepare legal arguments and meet experts.
“It concerns our very livelihood because climate change affects weather patterns, it affects our land and sea and basically the environment we live in,” Loughman said.
While there are countless international forums talking about climate change, there had been very little “action,” he said.
“As far as small island countries are concerned, we haven’t seen much,” he said.
Pacific nations emit less than 0.02 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2020, Vanuatu emitted 121,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, compared with Australia’s 379 million tonnes, World Bank data showed.
“For too long, our region has withstood the brunt of climate impacts while contributing the least to the crisis,” Loughman said.
He estimated that Vanuatu, which has a population of about 313,000 people, needs about US$1.2 billion by 2030 to pay for climate adaptation, mitigation and to cover related losses.
In March last year, UN members asked the Hague-based court to rule on “legal consequences” for states that “have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment,” as well as obligations to future generations.
A record 100 oral submissions are to be heard over two weeks of court proceedings later this year.
The court’s final opinion will not be binding, but it can carry significant legal, moral and political weight.
Fijian Attorney-General Graham Leung said that the court case was “not simply a legal issue — it is a matter of survival.”
