UN members prepare for pivotal vote on landmark ICJ climate justice ruling

"Every member state is being asked to back a series of landmark findings on climate justice from the international court of justice (ICJ) as part of a new political resolution. If passed, it will mean governments recognise they have a legal responsibility to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, including tackling fossil fuels. The ICJ's advisory opinion, published last year following a series of hearings in the Hague, had been requested by an unprecedented 132 states without opposition in 2023."

"It was hailed as a historic win for small island states. The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has since been leading a group of states to draft a resolution that welcomes the opinion and tries to help it make a difference on the ground. Ahead of the UN vote on 20 May, it is seeking support from as many other nations as possible. At a UN briefing earlier this month, the Vanuatu climate minister, Ralph Regenvanu, described the UN's initial resolution as a collective act of multilateral confidence that law can help steer us through the climate crisis that the court answered unanimously."

"That unanimity is a gift to the membership. It gives us legal clarity and it gives us something precious in the UN; a common reference point. Port Vila, Vanuatu. The resolution is being seen as a key test for the credibility of the international legal system. Regenvanu wants the resolution to get the broadest possible support, at least matching the 132 co-sponsors of the previous one."

"The text of the resolution has changed significantly since an initial draft circulated in February. Calls for a rapid, just and quantified phaseout of fossil fuel production and use, for example, were replaced with an urge to transition away. An original aim to set up an international register of damage, loss or injury was "

A UN General Assembly vote in New York will consider a political resolution that welcomes an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on climate justice. If adopted, governments would recognize legal responsibility to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, including measures addressing fossil fuels. The ICJ advisory opinion was requested by 132 states in 2023 and issued unanimously after hearings in The Hague, providing legal clarity and a shared reference point. Vanuatu is leading efforts to secure broad support for the resolution ahead of 20 May. The resolution text has been revised since an earlier draft, including changes from calls for rapid, quantified fossil-fuel phaseout to language urging transition away, and adjustments to proposals on an international register for damage and loss.

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