António Guterres Urges Stronger Support For Pacific Island States’ Climate Protection Strategy In Tonga
Key Takeaways
- Pacific island states show the way forward; multilateral backing for climate action urged.
- ICJ recognizes all states must protect the climate system.
- UN chief says the Pacific example should trigger stronger global support.
Forum Calls for Support
At the opening of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the Pacific island states “show the way” to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change and that the rest of the world must give them stronger support.
“Joie Chowdhury is senior attorney and climate justice and accountability manager at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Jule Schnakenberg is director of World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ)”
He argued that the Pacific is “a beacon of solidarity and strength, environmental stewardship and peace,” as the Forum’s 18 member states work under a 2050 strategy aimed at ensuring health and well-being by working together.
Guterres said the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development—built around the 17 goals or SDGs—“is wobbling,” and he warned that the ocean is treated “like a sewer.”
He added that the region urgently needs financial support, capacity and additional technology to accelerate the transition to clean energy and for countries to invest in adaptation and resilience.
ICJ Opinion Becomes Binding
In Geneva, UN human rights experts welcomed the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion that international human rights law forms part of States’ strict obligations to protect the climate system and the environment.
The experts said the ICJ “unequivocally concluded” that violations entail State responsibility to provide reparations for damages, and they highlighted the Court’s clarification that 1.5°C should be considered the international community’s consensual temperature threshold.
They also stressed that the Court warned that violating obligations to protect the climate system and the environment from greenhouse gas emissions is binding on all States and requires effective regulation of private actors and meaningful international cooperation.
The experts further commended the Court for explicitly stating that the production, consumption, exploration licenses and subsidies of fossil fuels may constitute an internationally illicit act.
UNGA Resolution Tests Leadership
A resolution to welcome and operationalise the ICJ advisory opinion is set to be considered by UN member states at the UN General Assembly later this month, with a date given as “May 20.”
“The Pacific island states show the way forward to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change”
Climate Home News frames the vote as a test of whether governments will “stand behind international law or not,” and it says the draft resolution is led by Vanuatu with support from a core group including the Netherlands, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Barbados, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Jamaica, the Philippines and Burkina Faso.
The article says the final text “faithfully reflects the full breadth of legal obligations articulated in the advisory opinion,” including the imperative of a just transition away from fossil fuels and the duty to provide full reparation for climate-related harm under international law.
It adds that resistance tracked efforts “to evade responsibility,” and it argues that the advisory opinion itself stands as the most authoritative clarification of international law on climate change.
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