Vanuatu calls on the World Court to recognize climate change harms
Vanuatu urged the top United Nations court to recognize the harm caused by climate change in its judgment on the legal obligation of countries to fight it.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Vanuatu on Monday urged the top United Nations court to recognize the harm caused by climate change in its judgment on the legal obligation of countries to fight it and address the consequences of them contributing to global warming.
Vanuatu, one of the small island states that has spearheaded the effort to get the World Court to give a so-called advisory opinion, was the first of more than 100 states and international organizations to give its views during two weeks of proceedings.
“We find ourselves on the front lines of a crisis we did not create, a crisis that threatens our very existence,” Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and the environment, told the court.
Regenvanu said there was an urgent need for a response to climate change that was rooted in international law rather than politics.
“We look to the court for recognition that the conduct which has already caused immense harm to my people and so many others is unlawful, that it must cease, and that its consequences must be repaired,” he said.
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