At The ICJ, The Global South Has Presented A World Of Climate Change Impacts & A Dire Need For Climate Justice

Statement from Arnold Kiel Loughman,
Attorney General for the Republic of Vanuatu 
The Hague (13 December 2024)

“The two weeks of oral hearings at the International Court of Justice have highlighted a compelling legal case, led by the Global South. We have argued, one statement after the other, that international environmental laws and fundamental human rights are applicable international legal obligations that must not be excluded from States responsibilities in the context of climate change.

“Historical polluters are responsible for the harm that our small island State and many other nations have been left to deal with as a result of climate change impacts, while uncurbed greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel subsidies and ongoing exploration and extraction from these same historical polluters continue to fuel the climate crisis.

“The ICJ is now carefully considering all of our submissions, and more than half of the UN member states have united to speak forcefully on the global stage even as climate change tramples rights and erodes hard-earned economic gains from the past several decades.

“This landmark case has shown a shared determination from representatives across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Pacific Island States and even a few European States to uphold and apply the rule of international law in the context of climate change. We are coming to the Court seeking justice. We cannot wait another couple of decades in the hope that climate negotiations will deliver the climate action needed to stop the ongoing catastrophic consequences of climate change, let alone provide remedies for the harm we have already experienced.

“As pointed out by some States in the proceedings, historical polluters continue to hide behind the safety of the climate regime (UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement), which limits State responsibility to procedural obligations that avoid any real accountability.

“On the other hand, the large majority of the Global South States and Organisations participating are arguing that excluding other obligations under environmental and human rights laws, exceptionally, in the context of climate change undermines the rule of law. Why should the international laws that have protected and provided the foundations of the international legal system, such as the duty to prevent harm to another State (in simple terms), not be applicable now?

“One of the common threads of statements over the past two weeks has been the importance of the right of self-determination, and how climate change has impaired efforts to assert that right. In this light, the prominence of the case has furthered our efforts to decolonize the global economy where, currently, the impacts of industrial activities in high-emission countries still disproportionately impact the Global South.

“All of us look forward to the ICJ’s coming Advisory Opinion and its potential to inspire global action. In Vanuatu, we understand that a rising tide may lift all boats, as the Global North saying goes. But in Vanuatu, we need our boats lifted fast, before the sea-level rise permanently swamps our coasts.”

BACKGROUND

For the first two weeks of December 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) heard testimony from more than 100 nations and international nongovernmental organisations in its largest case ever.

The ICJ case, led at the State-level by Vanuatu, seeks to clarify the legal obligations of States to combat climate change and protect vulnerable communities whose fundamental human rights—prominently including the right to self-determination—are threatened. Vanuatu has contributed only 0.0016% of global historic greenhouse gas emissions yet suffers disproportionately from climate impacts.

For decades, Pacific Island States have experienced devastating impacts of climate change, including increasingly severe cyclones, rising sea levels and land degradation. These disasters have displaced communities, threatened livelihoods and eroded local economies.

Some countries, mainly historical polluters and a few fossil-fuel-dependent economies, advocate for the Paris Agreement to be considered as the only international law relevant to climate change. However, Vanuatu and a large majority of other States and intergovernmental organisations argued before the court that existing legal obligations apply under:

• The Charter of the United Nations,
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
• The International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child,
• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,
• The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer,
• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,
• The Convention on Biological Diversity,
• The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and others.

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