Pacific advocacy wins at the world’s highest court!
The Pacific Elders’ Voice (PEV) applauds the historic Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and pays tribute to the dedication and resilience of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), initiated by a group of law students at the Vanuatu campus of the University of the South Pacific. Their advocacy, outreach and unrelenting support for climate justice and a safer, more equitable world for future generations represent the strength and vitality of the Pacific in the 21st century. PEV also expresses profound gratitude to the Government of Vanuatu for supporting the course of actions that has now transformed climate change into a global, human rights issue.
The PEV has long advocated that climate change, driven by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouses gases (GHG), is the defining challenge of our time, and must be urgently addressed. It reiterated, in its many positions and submissions, that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific, and to human communities worldwide, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable. In supporting Vanuatu’s efforts at the United Nations General Assembly to raise international legal issues that arise from the challenges engendered by climate change, PEV has consistently called for urgent global action to immediately reduce GHG emissions and provide new and additional support for adaptation to deal with climate change impact that has already occurred and will continue for the foreseeable future.
PEV again reiterates the focus on Pacific Islands in this statement:
“Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are among the most climate vulnerable nations on earth, facing the most severe consequences of climate change – consequences that will only worsen in years to come. PICs have already been heavily affected by a host of climate-related disasters, including cyclones and other extreme weather events. Sea level rise has displaced entire communities and upended livelihoods across the region, while superstorms, droughts and wildfires wreak havoc the world over. These impacts of climate change are now also affecting the human rights of people everywhere. Most basic rights, such as those to life, health, water, sanitation etc. are among others that are being impacted as a result of climate change. Addressing these impacts is a matter of survival.”
The ICJ decision gives all Pacific Island communities hope, while a recent decision by an Australian court pertaining to the Torres Strait Islands was disappointing and disconcerting. The Australian Federal Court ruled that GHG emissions are matter of core government policy to be decided in the parliament, not in courts. At the same time, the Court acknowledged that Torres Strait Islands are more vulnerable to climate change that other communities in Australia.
The ICJ opinion and the recent decision by the Inter-American courts, are powerful reminders about the obligations of States under human rights and the direct connection to climate change. The human right to life as well as a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is foundational for the enjoyment of all human rights according to the ICJ. This is no less true for the Torres Strait Islands or other parts of the Pacific Islands.
The ICJ reinforces that the 1.5 degrees Celsius is an obligation and it is incumbent on all countries, especially the rich, industrialized high emitters, to ensure alignment of its NDC targets and ambition.
The opinion should now inform actions and decisions at all levels, national and international. It also vindicates the various submissions made by SIDS and like-minded nations to the ICJ in the face of countries including Australia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States arguing that developed countries do not have a legal responsibility to tackle climate change, beyond the
existing multilateral mechanisms such as the UNFCCC.
Australia’s hypocrisy and incoherence were particularly obvious when on the one hand it acknowledged that “Climate change poses the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of small island states, including Pacific Island states,” but on the other argued that further legal obligations should not extend beyond what was covered by international climate treaties such as the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
In this context PEV had questioned how Australia expected continuing Pacific support for its bid to host COP31 in 2026 when it was directly undermining the existentiality of Pacific Island Countries guaranteed under the provisions of the Boe Declaration to which Australia is committed as a signatory.
The ICJ opinion now opens up new and various avenues to seek climate justice under international law, and it would be to the benefit of everyone to work together and collaborate on this existential threat. This includes cutting GHG emissions, protecting human rights, ensuring inter-generational equity and facilitate meaningful actions to correct the harm that has already been done. The Court has provided a roadmap for people and Governments to seek the transformative change and accountability we need in the fight against climate change, now and in the future.
Respectfully yours,
Anote Tong,
Chair PEV, Former President of the Republic of Kiribati
Thomas “Tommy” Remengesau,
Former President of Palau
Enele Sopoaga,
Former Prime Minister of Tuvalu
Dame Meg Taylor,
Former Secretary General of the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat
Robert Underwood,
President Emeritus of the University of Guam
Kaliopate Tavola,
Ambassador and Former Minister, Government of Fiji
Rt Hon Bikenibeu Paeniu
Former Prime Minister, Tuvalu
Emanuel “Manny” Mori
Former President, Federated States of Micronesia
Konai Helu Thaman,
Former Professor, The University of the South Pacific
Vijay S Naidu
Former Professor, The University of the South Pacific
Peggy Dunlop-Fairbairn
Emeritus Professor, Auckland University of Technology
