UN adopts landmark resolution seeking court opinion on climate crisis

WASHINGTON

The UN General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution Wednesday, urging the world's top court to render an advisory opinion on obligations countries have to address the climate crisis.

The resolution, which was adopted by consensus and co-sponsored by more than 120 countries, was spearheaded by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu which has faced the effects of climate change and announced its intention to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"Advisory opinions of the Court – the principal judicial organ of the United Nations – have tremendous importance and can have a long-standing impact on the international legal order," UN chief Antonio Guterres told the General Assembly, "Advisory opinions can provide much-needed clarification on existing international legal obligations."

"If and when given, such an opinion would assist the General Assembly, the UN and member states to take the bolder and stronger climate action that our world so desperately needs. It could also guide the actions and conduct of states in their relations with each other, as well as towards their own citizens," he said.

Vanuatu's Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau said: “Today we have witnessed a win for climate justice of epic proportions."

“Today’s historic resolution is the beginning of a new era in multilateral climate cooperation, one that is more fully focused on upholding the rule of international law and an era that places human rights and intergenerational equity at the forefront of climate decision-making," he said.