The United Nations Court says that pollutants can be responsible for greenhouse gas emissions star-news.press/wp

Vanuatu, a state on the South Pacific Island, has led 320,000 people, has led an increased effort since 2021 to force the United Nations to answer one of the most important legal questions related to ClimateCould the pollutants be legally responsible for the damage they caused as a result of the issuance of large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions in the air?

The short answer is: Yes. He issued fifteen judges who form the International Court of Justice, located in The Hague in the Netherlands, unanimously Consultant The two countries’ saying “is a duty to prevent great harm to the environment by disposing of due care and using all means at their disposal to prevent the activities that are implemented in their jurisdiction or control from causing significant damage to the climate system and other parts of the environment.”

The court also stated that the current environmental treaties, international human rights law, and the participation of the United Nations are forcing the two countries to do everything in its power to protect the climate. Any illegal act that violates these agreements must be stopped immediately, followed by “complete compensation” and compensation provided to the affected parties.

“Vanuato is looking to cooperate with other states about the implementation of the court’s decision,” Ralph Regenvano, Minister of Climate Change and Environment in Vanuao, said in a statement. “Victory at the highest court in the world is just the beginning. Success depends on what happens after that through coordinated efforts through diplomacy, politics, litigation and calling for this moment to turn into a real turning point.”

For Vanuatu, a country with approximately 83 islands with a joint size like Connecticut, the decision is huge. The officials said the country was Responsible for less than 0.0004 % One of the global GPA between 1962 and 2022, but suffers from traces of climate change.

In addition to a high temperature, Vanuatun sees tropical hurricanes more severe and intense. In 2023, it was struck by three hurricanes that were 4 or higher, which affects nearly 200,000 population and cost them the country More than 400 million dollars In economic damage. The western Pacific periphery has risen from 4 to 6 inches between 1992-2020, which is especially dangerous for the country because many of them are low and exposed to corrosion. All this, in addition to increasing precipitation and drought periods, has caused the transfer of entire communities by the government, and the monuments are expected to grow more severe.

“Today, the smallest countries in the world have made history,” Fishal Brasad, Director of Pacific Island students who fight climate change, said in a statement. “The International Court of Justice’s decision makes us closer to a world that governments can no longer turn away from their legal responsibilities. It confirms a simple fact of climate justice: those who did less to feed this crisis deserve protection and the future.

Although the consulting opinion is not legally binding, environmental organizations and law experts hope that the ruling will specify a legal precedent for thousands of climate change cases throughout the world that try to protect governments and larger companies from climate pollution.

“This opinion could be a compass for countries that are considering how to give priority to justice and determine the priorities of the safety of their citizens,” said Carly Phillips, a research scientist in the Union of Primible Scholars who worked with the legal teams of seven countries that have made support of the court.

The United States does not accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, but it has presented Written statement In March 2024, she participated in the oral arguments, on the pretext that the members of the United Nations framework agreement on climate change and the Paris Convention for the year 2015 have already exposed the signatories to address the effects of climate change and protect them from accountability for climate harm.

But the Prime Minister of Vanuato Gotham was a questioner who was skeptical of the power of the United Nations Convention and the Paris Agreement, saying in a statement that “he does not generate the procedures that the world needs quickly sufficiently.” He believes that the positive opinion of the court can “support the weak countries in securing climate financing, technology, loss and damage.”

The court addressed this concern in its opinion and rejected the legal argument that environmental treaties, such as the Paris Agreement, protect the pollutants from accountability. In fact, the court emphasized that the Paris Agreement imposes strong obligations to alleviate and adapt to all parties and require them to respond to the loss and damage caused by climate change.

Given that the United States is one of the largest greenhouse gases in the world, According to international dataIt may be a decision that bears great motives responsible for this, but President Trump Withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement For the second time earlier this year.

The court summoned countries like the United States, saying that the countries that are not a party to climate treaties, but they are members of the United Nations, must meet “equivalent obligations under customary international law.”

The effect of opinion remains. “It is likely that it will not have a major impact in the United States,” said Maria Antonia Tigrei, director of the Global Climate Vading at the Sabine Climate Change Center at the University of Colombia.

Tigrely said that although the decision may not affect local court cases in the United States and cannot be prosecuted under the decision, the real influence can be seen at the international level. A court in Brazil, for example, can cite opinion on anyone 135 cases of current climate change Its way through the local court system.

The United Nations Court also indicated that companies pollutants are open to consultative opinion, especially if they are abroad in a country that considers the United Nations and climate treaties. “The countries are obligated to put an end to illegal actions,” Tigri said. “If a country is found in a breach by giving permits to an oil company, they may need to cancel these permits.”

Vanu’u representatives said that the next step is to return the decision to the United Nations General Assembly to follow up on a full decision to support the implementation of the decision. The opinion will be an essential axis when the United Nations countries meet in November at the next climate change conference, known as COP30, in Brazil.