The story so far: On March 29, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution asking the International Court of Justice in The Hague to provide an opinion on what obligations countries have to reduce climate change based on pledges they made to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Significantly, the resolution, adopted by consensus, was pushed forward by one of the world’s smallest countries, the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, an island devastated in 2015 by Cyclone Pam, which was likely driven by climate change, destroying 95 million tonnes of crops and affecting two-thirds of its population.

The draft resolution (A/77/L.58) invoked Article 96 of the UN Charter and asked the International Court of Justice to address two questions: 1) What are the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system for present and future generations? 2) What are the legal consequences of these obligations for States if, by their actions or omissions, they have caused significant damage to the climate system, in particular for small island developing States (SIDS) and for the people who have been harmed. The resolution refers to several international protocols, including the Paris Agreement (2015), the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and even the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The entire process is expected to take around 18 months for the International Court of Justice to deliberate and issue its opinion.

SUHASINI HAIDAR