Rich nations 'must take legal responsibility for climate change impact'

A handful of countries should be held legally responsible for the ongoing impacts of climate change, representatives of vulnerable nations told the international court of justice yesterday.

- Isabella Kaminski

At the start of a landmark hearing at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Vanuatu's special envoy for climate change and the environment said "a handful of readily identifiable states" had produced the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions but stood to lose the least from the impacts.

Ralph Regenvanu told judges that Pacific island nations such as Vanuatu were already bearing the brunt of rising sea levels and increasingly frequent and severe disasters. "We find ourselves on the frontlines of a crisis we did not create," he added.

The hearing is the culmination of years of campaigning by a group of Pacific island law students and diplomacy spearheaded by Vanuatu. In March last year the UN general assembly unanimously approved a resolution calling on the international court to provide an advisory opinion on what obligations states have to tackle climate change and what the legal consequences could be if they fail to do so.