UN resolution game changer for climate justice

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. [AP photo]

The world of geopolitics and climate change can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming.

But, in a world first, we saw one of the tiniest countries on earth, and a group of law students from Fiji, convince every country on earth to pass a crucial resolution at the UN that could transform how the world understands our legal obligations to tackling the climate crisis.

The UN General Assembly about a month ago adopted the resolution, proposed by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, for the world's highest legal authority, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to provide a legal opinion on what obligations nations are under to protect generations from climate change.

The Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Ishmael Kalsakau, termed it a "win for climate justice of epic proportions." We now await the ICJ ruling, but it is hoped that this will now make it easier to hold polluting countries accountable for failing to curb their emissions, and specify what the consequences should be for countries which do not act.

Although the decision will not be legally binding on domestic courts, establishing legal rules will influence judges and put pressure on governments. Vanuatu's Climate Change Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, said the decision could also accelerate the adoption of other initiatives such as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and adding the crime of ecocide to international law.

Even supporters of the UN resolution thought the chances of it passing were a long shot. The concept was first developed four years ago as a class exercise by students at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, another country that has done almost nothing to cause climate change but is facing the existential threat of rising sea levels.

Cynthia Houniuhi, one of the students, said they recognised the scale of the task ahead of them: "Let's get real here. How can a small group of students from the Pacific convince the majority of the UN members to support this initiative?" But they drafted a letter to Pacific leaders making the case and they got a positive response from Vanuatu.

Vanuatu may not carry much geopolitical weight. But what it lacks in conventional power it more than makes up for with the moral weight of its argument. The archipelago contributes almost nothing to the carbon pollution that is driving the climate crisis, yet it was struck by two Category 4 cyclones within three days of each other last month.

Vanuatu set about making the case for a UN resolution and picked up support from other vulnerable countries, with an 18-member core drafting group formed, including Uganda. By the time the motion was put to a vote it had 133 co-sponsors from around the world and the vote ended up passing unanimously with all nations voting in favour. This remarkable achievement is the first time an idea hatched in a Fijian classroom will end up in the world's highest courtroom.

This is the second breakthrough for climate vulnerable nations in the last five months, following the creation of a Loss and Damage Fund at the UN climate summit, COP27, in Egypt in November. Despite the subject of loss and damage not even being on the agenda, countries across the global south worked together to negotiate an agreement which will see a fund set up to deliver compensation for the losses and damages caused by climate change.

It just shows the untapped influence that climate vulnerable countries can bring to bear on global affairs when they work together. No continent is more impacted by climate breakdown and less responsible for its origins than Africa. Our leaders have the potential to forge a unified moral voice calling for polluters to cut emissions and accelerate global shift from fossil fuels towards clean, green, renewables.

If the students and small islands in the Pacific can spark such a momentous shift, just imagine what a pan-African movement could achieve. It's time for Africa to add its weight to a shift in climate action which can help protect lives and livelihoods from Kenya to Vanuatu.