Over several years, Vanuatu carefully gathered support for the resolution to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an opinion on the legal obligations of countries to protect current and future generations from climate change. The tiny Pacific island nation of 300,000 people won support from many states, including Singapore, with the Republic becoming one of 18 core supporting nations for the proposal. Singapore’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Burhan Gafoor called the adoption of the resolution historic and “a big step for climate action, a strong boost for international law and a resounding reaffirmation of multilateralism”. The support from the UNGA was especially encouraging because it came just weeks after more than 190 nations agreed to the text of a global high seas treaty that aims to conserve and protect marine biodiversity beyond national boundaries. In December 2022, nearly 200 nations also agreed to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and marine areas by 2030.
is the question of state responsibility for the impacts of greenhouse gas pollution. Historically, big industrialised nations and companies – such as fossil fuel, steel and cement giants – have been most responsible for the rapid growth of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are heating up the planet. These emissions do not obey territorial boundaries and are causing impacts such as more severe storms, droughts, heatwaves and melting ice caps, far from their source. An advisory opinion from the ICJ would likely provide much stronger moral and political weight to the question of state responsibility for carbon pollution – in turn providing a foundation for future rights-based climate litigation by nations or groups.
