The island nation of Vanuatu criticized representatives for major emitters like the U.S. and China for their remarks during International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings that will determine states’ international obligations to address climate change.
On Wednesday, representatives for the U.S. spoke during proceedings in the Hague, defending the status quo after Vanuatu called for the court to issue an opinion holding the nations responsible for the most emissions responsible.
“Any other legal obligations relating to climate change mitigation identified by the court should be interpreted consistently with the obligations states have under this treaty regime,” State Department legal adviser Margaret Taylor told the court.
Representatives for China made similar arguments, with Foreign Ministry legal adviser Ma Xinming saying that Bejing “hopes that the court will uphold the U.N. climate change negotiations mechanism as the primary channel for global climate governance.”
China and the U.S. are the top two emitters worldwide.
Vanuatu, an archipelago of 82 islands, earlier this week opened proceedings by calling for an opinion holding “a handful of readily identifiable states” accountable.
“We are obviously disappointed by the statements made by the governments of Australia, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and China during the ICJ proceedings,” Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and environment, said in a statement Wednesday. “These nations, some of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, have pointed to existing treaties and commitments that have regrettably failed to motivate substantial reductions in emissions.”
ICJ opinions are not legally binding and the U.S. and China do not fully acknowledge the court’s authority. However, a finding siding with Vanuatu could serve as a major precedent for lawsuits citing the impacts of climate change.
The proceedings kicked off in the wake of the COP29 United Nations climate change conference in Azerbaijan, which concluded with an agreement that sorely disappointed many of the most vulnerable participating nations.
