A landmark climate change case will open at the top UN court as island nations fear rising seas

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THE HAGUE (AP) — The United Nations Supreme Court will hear the largest case in its history on Monday, when it begins two weeks of hearings on what countries around the world are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight devastating climate change. impact.

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After years of pressure from island nations who fear they will simply disappear under rising sea waters, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice last year for an opinion on “the obligations of states with regard to climate change.”

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“We want the court to confirm that the behavior that destroyed the climate is unlawful,” Margarita Wiferenke Singh, who leads the legal team for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, told The Associated Press.

In the decade ending 2023, sea levels rose by a global average of about 4.3 cm (1.7 inches), with sea levels continuing to rise in parts of the Pacific Ocean. The world’s temperature has also risen by 1.3°C (2.3°F) since pre-industrial times due to the burning of fossil fuels.

Vanuatu is one of a group of small countries pushing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis.

“We are living on the front lines of the impact of climate change. We are witnesses to the destruction of our lands, our livelihoods, our culture and our human rights,” Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s climate change envoy, told reporters before the session.

Any decision taken by the court will be considered non-binding advice and will not be able to directly force rich countries to move to help struggling countries. However, it would be more than just a powerful symbol because it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including local lawsuits.

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On Sunday, before the hearing, advocacy groups will bring together environmental organizations from around the world. Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change – who first developed the idea of ​​seeking an advisory opinion – in collaboration with Global Youth for Climate Justice plan an afternoon of speeches, music and discussions.

Starting Monday, the court, based in The Hague, will hear from 99 countries and more than a dozen intergovernmental organizations over two weeks. It’s the largest lineup in the organization’s nearly 80-year history.

Last month, at the annual UN climate meeting, countries reached agreement on how rich countries can support poor countries in the face of climate disasters. Rich countries have agreed to raise at least $300 billion annually by 2035, but the total amount is less than the $1.3 trillion that experts and vulnerable countries say is necessary.

“For our generation and for the Pacific Islands, the climate crisis represents an existential threat. It is a matter of survival, and the largest economies in the world are not taking this crisis seriously. We are “We need the International Court of Justice to protect the rights of people on the front lines.”

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Fifteen judges from around the world will seek to answer two questions: What countries are obligated to do so under international law to protect the climate and the environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? What legal consequences will governments bear when their actions, or inaction, result in significant harm to the climate and environment?

The second question refers specifically to “small island developing States” that are likely to be most affected by climate change and to “members of present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change.”

The justices were also briefed on the science behind rising global temperatures by the UN climate change body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ahead of the hearings.

The case before the International Court of Justice follows a number of rulings around the world ordering governments to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In May, a UN maritime law tribunal said carbon emissions constitute marine pollution, and countries must take steps to adapt to and mitigate their harmful effects.

The ruling came a month after Europe’s highest human rights court declared that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change, in a landmark ruling that could have implications across the continent.

The Netherlands, the host country of the International Court of Justice, made history when a court ruled in 2015 that protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change is a human right and that the government has a duty to protect its citizens. The Dutch Supreme Court upheld the ruling in 2019.

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