By Farnoush Amiri, Edith M. Lederer and Matthew Lee with AP
Published on
A tiny Pacific island nation is pushing the United Nations to secure climate reparations from countries that fail to act on emissions. Vanuatu’s bid, set for a vote by the end of March, has the Trump administration scrambling to stop it.
In guidance issued this week to all US embassies and consulates abroad, the State Department said it “strongly objects” to the proposal being discussed by the UN General Assembly and that its adoption “could pose a major threat to US industry”.
The US is urging other nations to press for the withdrawal of the draft resolution, which is being circulated among the 193-member General Assembly. It stems from a landmark advisory opinion issued last July by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“President Trump has delivered a very clear message: that the UN and many nations of the world have gone wildly off track, exaggerating climate change into the world’s greatest threat,” according to the cable sent on Tuesday (10 February) and obtained by news agency The Associated Press.
It is the latest move by the Trump administration to distance the US from climate change efforts at home and around the world. Last week, the government revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for US action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The US last month also announced plans to withdraw from the UN treaty that establishes international climate negotiations.
What is the ICJ climate ruling?
Like many island nations, Vanuatu fears for its survival because of climate change. Last summer, years of lobbying spearheaded by the country culminated in an historic advisory opinion issued by the UN’s top court.
It ruled that a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right and, if countries fail to take “appropriate action to protect the climate system”, they could be in violation of international law.
It also said that nations harmed by the effects of climate change could be entitled to reparations.
All UN member states, including major greenhouse gas emitters like the US and China, are parties to the court. The opinion is not legally binding but was hailed as a turning point in international climate law.
The draft resolution expresses determination to translate the ICJ’s findings in to “concrete multinational action” and calls on all nations and regional organisations to comply with their obligations under international law related to climate change.
The proposal includes adopting a national climate action plan to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius; phasing out subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, production and exploitation; and urging those in violation to “provide full and prompt reparation for damage.” It would establish an International Register of Damage to record evidence and claims.
‘A practical roadmap for accountability’: Vanuatu seeks a vote in March
Vanuatu’s UN Ambassador Odo Tevi, who said his island country wants a vote on the resolution by the end of March, has stressed that it would ensure that the clarity in the ICJ ruling “strengthens global climate action and multilateral cooperation”.
Louis Charbonneau, UN director of Human Rights Watch, urged support for the draft resolution on Friday (13 February) and said “governments should live up to their obligation” to protect human rights around the world by protecting the environment.
“Responsible governments shouldn’t allow themselves to be bullied by those that reject the global scientific consensus and continue to support reliance on harmful fossil fuels,” he said.
While General Assembly resolutions also are not legally binding, the ICJ said taking action to deal with the climate crisis is an international obligation.
“The resolution attempts to turn the ICJ’s interpretation of key legal standards into a practical roadmap for state accountability, which is likely to trigger political pushback from higher income high emitting countries wary of their historical responsibility and financial liability,” Candy Ofime, climate justice researcher and legal adviser at Amnesty International, said in a statement on 13 February.
Do other nations share US concerns about the draft resolution?
The State Department cable outlined plans to tell other countries to urge Vanuatu to withdraw its draft – which the US says is “even more problematic” than the court opinion – from consideration by Friday, when informal consultations began.
It asserted that other Group of 7 economic powers as well as China, Saudi Arabia and Russia have all indicated to the US Mission to the UN that they share Americans’ concerns with “aspects” of the draft.
“This UNGA resolution is another example of UN overreach, part of a broader pattern of trying to use speculative climate models to fabricate purported legal obligations that seek to assign blame and encourage baseless claims, and to infer human rights obligations to which states have not agreed,” according to the cable, which tells US diplomats to use it as a talking point with representatives of other countries.
Many mainstream scientists have continuously warned that climate change is behind increasing instances of deadly and costly extreme weather, including flooding, droughts, wildfires, intense rainfall events and dangerous heat.