ICJ sets legal responsibility for climate change, ‘future of our planet’ climate crisis news
The landmark hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has ended after two weeks of arguments by more than 100 countries and international organizations over who should bear legal responsibility for the worsening climate crisis.
The effort was led by Vanuatu, which, along with other Pacific island nations, says the climate crisis threatens its existence.
“It is with a deep sense of urgency and responsibility that I stand before you today,” Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and the environment, said as he opened the hearing on 2 December.
“The consequences of these actions will echo for generations, determining the fate of countries like mine and the future of our planet,” he said.
In the two weeks that followed, dozens of countries made similar appeals, while a handful of major fossil fuel producing countries argued that polluters should not be held responsible.
Sebastian Duque, a senior lawyer at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), which monitored the hearing, said countries arguing against legal liability were in the minority.
“Major polluters, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, Norway, and Kuwait, have isolated themselves in their efforts to serve their self-interests and manipulate the legal system to protect themselves.” Found isolated. Responsibly,” Duke said in a statement.
“It is time to break this cycle of harm and impunity,” he said.
The ICJ’s 15 judges from around the world must now consider 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 when their actions, or lack of action, have caused significant damage to the climate and environment?
Among the countries making oral statements during the hearing was the State of Palestine, which, along with other developing countries, was calling for international law to “take center stage in protecting humanity from the dangerous path of man-made destruction resulting from climate change”. .
The Palestinian statement also noted that Israel’s illegal occupation is causing climate change and harming Palestinians’ ability to respond to it.
“There is no doubt that the ongoing illegal Israeli belligerent occupation of Palestine and its discriminatory policies have clear negative climate impacts,” Ammar Hijazi, Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Netherlands, said on Monday.
East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, testified in support of Vanuatu’s case.
Chief of Staff Elizabeth Exposto said, “The climate crisis we face today is the result of the historical and ongoing actions of industrialized nations that have benefited from colonial exploitation and rapid economic growth driven by carbon-intensive industries and practices.” have picked up.” Timor-Leste’s prime minister said on Thursday.
“These countries, representing only a fraction of the global population, are largely responsible for the climate crisis,” he said, “and yet, the impacts of climate change do not respect borders.”
The hearing took place in the United Nations General Assembly in March 2023 after 132 countries voted to support Vanuatu’s push for an opinion from the ICJ on the legal obligations of nations to protect present and future generations from climate change.
The courts’ stance on encouraging action on climate change also reflects a growing degree of dissatisfaction among some governments over the lack of progress in UN climate talks, where decisions are based on consensus.
The most recent COP29 summit concluded in Baku, Azerbaijan, with rich countries pledging to contribute $300 billion per year by 2035 to help poorer countries cope with the impacts of climate change.
But Climate Action Network International, a network of 1,900 civil society groups in more than 130 countries, described the deal as a “joke” when compared with the costs developing countries face from climate change.
As Regenvanu said in his statement to Vanuatu, “It is unfair that the COP failed to reach any agreement on emissions reductions”.
“There is an urgent need for a collective response to climate change, not on the basis of political convenience but on the basis of international law.”
WATCH LIVE: Vanuatu and Melanesian Spearhead Group (jointly), South Africa, Albania and Germany open
Public hearing in the consultative proceedings on the obligations of states in relation to climate changehttps://t.co/qGazks5diA– CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) 2 December 2024
