The Republic of Vanuatu, an island nation of the southern Pacific of 320,000 people, has led a growing effort since 2021 to oblige the United Nations to answer one of the most crucial legal issues related to climate change: Can polluters be held legally responsible for the damage they caused following the release of large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere?
The short answer is: Yes. Fifteen judges that make up the International Court of Justice, located in The Hague in the Netherlands, have published unanimity advisory opinion To say that countries “have a duty to prevent significant damage to the environment by acting with reasonable diligence and to use all the means at their disposal to prevent activities carried out in their jurisdiction or their control of harming significant damage to the climate system and other parts of the environment”.
The court also declared that existing environmental treaties, international human rights law and participation in the United Nations obliges countries to do everything possible to protect the climate. Any unjustified act that violates these agreements must be immediately stopped, followed by “complete repairs” and compensation provided to the injured parties.
“Vanuatu is anxious to collaborate with other states on the implementation of the court decision,” said Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment of Vanuatu. “A victory in front of the highest court in the world is only the beginning. Success will depend on what will then happen thanks to coordinated efforts through diplomacy, politics, disputes and advocacy to transform this moment into a real turning point.”
John Thys / AFP via getty images 
For Vanuatu, a country which includes 83 islands of size combined roughly the same as Connecticut, the decision is monumental. Officials said the country was Responsible for less than 0.0004% Global greenhouse gas emissions between 1962 and 2022, but undergoing disproportionate impacts of climate change.
In addition to its increase in average temperature, Vanuatu sees more serious and intense tropical cyclones. In 2023, it was struck by three cyclones which were category 4 or more, which had an impact on nearly 200,000 residents and a cost of the country more than $ 400 million in economic damages. The Western Tropical Pacific Ocean increased by 4 to 6 inches between 1992 and 2010, which is particularly dangerous for the country, because a large part is low and vulnerable to erosion. All this, as well as increased precipitation and periods of drought, caused the movement of entire communities by the government, and the impacts should become more serious.
“Today, the smallest countries in the world have marked history,” said Vishal Prasad, director of students on the Pacific Island fighting climate change in a statement. “The CIJ’s decision brings us closer to a world where governments can no longer close their eyes to their legal responsibilities. It affirms a simple truth of climate justice: those who have done the least to fuel this crisis deserve protection, repairs and a future. This decision is a safeguard for the Pacific communities on the front line.”
Although advisory opinion is not legally restrictive, environmental organizations and law experts hope that the decision will be able to establish a legal precedent for thousands of cases of climate change in the world which are trying to hold greater governments and companies responsible for climate pollution.
“This opinion can serve as a compass for countries reflecting on how to prioritize justice and prioritize the security of their citizens while complying with international law,” said Carly Phillips, scientific researcher of the Union of Scientists concerned who worked with the legal teams of seven countries that have submitted declarations of support for the court asking for the opinion.
The United States does not accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, but it has submitted A written declaration In March 2024 and participated in oral arguments, arguing that the members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 2015 Paris Agreement are already obliging the signatories to fight against the impacts of climate change and protect them against the responsibility of harming the climate.
But Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat was skeptical about the power of the United Nations Convention and the Paris Agreement, affirming in a statement that no longer “generating the actions that the world needs fairly quickly”. He thinks that a favorable opinion of the Court could “support vulnerable nations to ensure climate, technology and support for losses and damage”.
The court responded to this concern in its opinion and rejected the legal argument that environmental treaties, such as the Paris Agreement, protect polluters from responsibility. In fact, the court stressed that the Paris Agreement imposes strong attenuation and adaptation obligations to all parties and forces them to respond to losses and damage caused by climate change.
Since the United States is one of the largest greenhouse gas transmitters in the world, According to international dataThe decision to hold important issuers could be worrying, but President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement For a second time earlier this year.
The court called on countries like the United States, claiming that nations which are not part of the climatic treaties but are members of the United Nations must comply with “equivalent obligations under customary international law”.
The impact of opinion remains to be seen. “He’s probably going to have a lot of influence in the United States,” said Maria Antonia Tigre, director of global climate dispute at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law of Columbia University.
Tigre said that although the decision cannot influence internal judicial affairs in the United States and that the country cannot be prosecuted under the decision, the real impact could be seen internationally. A court in Brazil, for example, could cite opinion in one of the 135 Current climate change cases Fraying a path through its national judicial system.
The United Nations Tribunal also pointed out that companies of companies are open to advisory opinion, especially if they are based abroad in a country which has gone to the United Nations and climatic treaties. “Countries have the obligation to end unjustified acts,” said Tiger. “If a country is in violation by giving permits to an oil company, it may need to revoke these permits.”
Vanuatu representatives said the next step is to bring the decision to the United Nations General Assembly to continue a complete resolution to support the implementation of the decision. Opinion will be a main objective when the UN countries meet in November for the next conference on climate change, known as COP30, in Brazil.
