Sawt Falasteen - Pressure mounts at United Nations for climate change 'lifeline'

"We can't take any more disaster and destruction. We all have a right to a future, and this UN resolution is the lifeline -- we need to grab it," said Vepaiamele, a 17-year-old from Vanuatu who testified at the International Court of Justice in 2024.

The General Assembly, driven by Pacific island nation Vanuatu, asked the ICJ that year for an advisory opinion on states' responsibility to honor their climate commitments.

The opinion issued last summer exceeded the expectations of climate advocates with the court ruling it was "unlawful" for countries to neglect their climate commitments, opening the door to "reparations" for affected countries.

To add momentum to that non-binding opinion, on which courts around the world can nevertheless rely, Vanuatu presented a draft resolution in January aimed at putting it into practice.

Adoption of the resolution could "mark a turning point in the global climate fight," said Alice Nell, who led action group Avaaz's global campaign backing the resolution.

But the text was altered significantly after negotiations among states, with climate change taking a back seat to national security or industrial interests in many countries.

The resolution would welcome the ICJ opinion "as an authoritative contribution to the clarification of existing international law" and calls on states to "comply with their respective obligations" to protect the climate.

- 'Watered down' text -

It also emphasizes the measures needed to keep global warming limited to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, particularly "transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems."

That would be in keeping with a goal adopted by nearly 200 countries during a global climate meeting in 2023.

However, the creation of an "International Register of Damage" to compile evidence of "damage, loss or injury attributable to climate change" has vanished from the current text, an initial draft of which was viewed by AFP.

The biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions routinely oppose any mechanism that could force them to pay reparations to victims of climate disruption.

The draft resolution nonetheless states that according to the ICJ, a state in violation of its climate obligations may be required to pay "full reparation to injured states."

Climate advocates now hope the idea of a damage registry will be reconsidered, bolstered by a report from the UN chief.

Despite the watered-down text, it is unlikely that its adoption will be by consensus, as was the case for the 2024 resolution, according to diplomatic sources, who expect a vote will be requested by at least one of the reluctant states.

Some holdouts have already submitted amendments to the text which was sponsored by more than 60 countries.

Oil-producing nations including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Nigeria, and Iran have submitted amendments that would remove some references cementing the ICJ's opinion as a guiding framework for climate action.

Vanuatu has warned against further weakening the text by straying from the ICJ line.

"The world is watching," said Lee-Anne Sackett, Vanuatu's special envoy for climate justice.

"The question before us is not whether climate change is real or urgent, but whether the United Nations will collectively uphold the rule of law in the face of it."

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST