1 / 10Vanuatu is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Recently, the small Pacific island nation won a historic UN vote to advance international climate law. This vote empowers the UN to seek the ICJ's opinion on the obligations countries have to address climate change. (Image: AP Photo/Charley Piringi, File)
2 / 10United Nations General Assembly, on March 29 2023, adopted a resolution seeking an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on climate change. The resolution - which was co-sponsored by 132 countries - was initiated by Vanuatu, a country which is at risk from climate change. (Image: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz REFILE - CORRECTING DATE)
3 / 10The UN is now empowered to seek an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal obligations of countries to address climate change.
This will also clarify if there could be any legal consequences for countries that cause such harm to the climate that it affects others, creating a path for such nations to be sued in future. (Image: REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo)
4 / 10Though the ICJ's advisory opinions are not binding on national courts they carry great moral and legal authority and can be used to create pathways for future lawsuits. Supporters of the initiative hope that this will force countries to take climate policies seriously and protect the rights of populations living in the countries most at risk of climate change events.
5 / 10In March 2023, Vanuatu was hit by two Category 4 cyclones within three days. The cyclones caused widespread damage and flooding. Vanuatu is recognised as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change and disasters. (Image: DevMode/via REUTERS)
6 / 10Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's climate change minister
Vanuatu’s campaign built a core group of 18 countries, most of them small, to join its bid to underline the urgency of the climate crisis: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Germany, Liechtenstein, Federated States of Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Uganda, and Vietnam. In 2021, Vanuatu announced its intention to seek an ICJ advisory opinion. (Image: AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)
7 / 10Vanuatu's policymakers were careful to make the resolution non-contentious. Its leaders repeatedly said that they were not seeking to create new international obligations. Instead, they were seeking to clarify how pre-existing international agreements apply to climate change.
8 / 10“We believe the clarity it will bring can greatly benefit our efforts to address the climate crisis, and could further bolster global and multilateral cooperation,” said Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau, Prime Minister of Vanuatu. (Image: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)
9 / 10Human-caused climate change is already affecting regions across the globe.
10 / 10Global temperatures have already risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. If the trend continues, the global surface temperature will "likely" exceed 1.5°C in this century. (Image: REUTERS/Natalie Thomas)
