Australia has joined 140 other countries in passing a major United Nations resolution backing a landmark legal ruling on climate change, despite efforts by the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia to sink it. Source: ABC News.
The UN General Assembly voted overnight to endorse last year’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, which found countries can be held legally responsible for their greenhouse gas emissions.
While 28 countries, including India and Türkiye, abstained, only eight countries voted against it: Belarus, Iran, Israel, Liberia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Yemen.
The resolution was driven by Vanuatu, which has spearheaded the international push behind the ICJ ruling.
The vote has been celebrated by climate campaigners, who say it gives the decision a political seal of approval and should drive more rapid global decarbonisation.
Vanuatu’s Minister of Climate Change Ralph Regenvanu said the resolution was “deeply significant” because it “confirms that no state is above its obligations to protect people, future generations, and our planet”.
While the final resolution passed by the UN was watered down to gain broader support, it still calls on states to “comply with their respective obligations” to cut emissions and notes the ICJ’s finding that polluting nations may be required to pay reparations.
The US had actively campaigned to sink the vote, with America’s UN representative, Tammy Bruce, declaring that the resolution included “inappropriate political demands relating to fossil fuels”.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said Australia was “pleased to have worked closely and constructively with Pacific countries throughout the negotiation process”.
Australia’s representative at the UN, James Larsen, told the General Assembly that it had “engaged constructively throughout negotiations to seek to bridge divides in the resolution” and praised Vanuatu for “their diplomacy in presenting a text that has achieved widespread support”.
But he also said that there was no international consensus on the implications of the ICJ ruling, and stressed that Australia was still “carefully considering the Court’s opinion”.
“Our support for this resolution should not be interpreted as our agreement with every element of the advisory opinion,” Mr Larsen said.
“Rather, our support reflects our recognition of the seriousness of the climate crisis, the need for concrete action and the positive role of the International Court of Justice’s opinion in support of global efforts.”
FULL STORY
Australia backs landmark UN climate change ruling as others try to block it (By Stephen Dziedzic, ABC News)
