The future of the planet is at stake, a Vanuatu representative told the UN's highest court on Monday, opening a historic process that aims to establish a legal framework on how countries should fight climate change. .
More than 100 countries and organizations will present observations on the subject, the highest number ever recorded before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which sits in The Hague.
“The outcome of these proceedings will have repercussions for generations, determining the fate of nations like mine and the future of our planet,” said Ralph Regenvanu, special envoy for climate change in Vanuatu.
“This is perhaps the most important case in the history of humanity,” he added.
Activists hope that the opinion of the ICJ judges will have important legal consequences in the fight against climate change.
But others fear that the request for a non-binding advisory opinion, supported by the UN, will have only a limited impact and that it will take months, even years, for the highest court to deliver its opinion. .
– “Advanced” –
A few dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the Peace Palace, where the ICJ is based, with banners reading: “The biggest problem before the highest court” and “Fund our future, finance the climate now.” .
“I am hopeful that the judges will say something useful that can really break the deadlock around climate negotiations that we see happening every year at the COPs,” said Jule Schnakenberg, a member of the Youth world for climate justice.
“We really hope to see progress,” added this 26-year-old German to AFP.
The hearings come days after the conclusion of a hard-won climate deal at the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, which stipulates that developed countries must provide at least $300 billion a year by 2035 to finance climate change. the fight against climate change.
Poorer countries called the pledge by rich polluters insulting and the final deal did not mention the global commitment to abandon fossil fuels.
Last year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it submitted two key questions to international judges.
What obligations do states have under international law to protect the Earth from greenhouse gas emissions?
What are the legal consequences of these obligations, when States, “through their acts and omissions, have caused significant damage to the climate system”?
The second question relates to the responsibilities of states for damage caused to smaller, more vulnerable countries and their populations, particularly to countries threatened by rising sea levels and harsh weather conditions in regions such as the Pacific Ocean. .
– Legal framework –
Joie Chowdhury, a lawyer at the Center for International Environmental Law, based in the United States and Switzerland, believes that the Court will provide “a general legal framework” on which “more specific questions can be decided”.
For her, the judges' opinion, which should be delivered sometime next year, “will shed light on climate-related disputes at the national and international levels.”
Some of the world's biggest polluters, including the top three greenhouse gas emitters, China, the United States and India, will be among the 98 countries and 12 organizations and groups expected to submit comments .
The international community has agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.
However, preliminary research by scientists at the Global Carbon Project and published at COP29 found that CO2 emissions from fossil fuels continued to rise this year to reach a new record.
