US presses Vanuatu on UN stage after ICJs landmark climate change decision

US Urges Vanuatu to Withdraw Climate Resolution

The United States government has expressed strong opposition to a draft UN resolution supporting a landmark International Court of Justice ruling on climate change. The resolution, proposed by Vanuatu, aims to strengthen global action on the issue.

According to a US State Department cable obtained by Al Jazeera, the Trump administration “strongly objects” to the proposed resolution. The cable states that the US is urging Vanuatu to withdraw its draft resolution and cease using the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion as a basis for creating international legal obligations.

The ICJ’s ruling last year found that countries have a legal obligation to act on climate change, citing it as an “existential threat”. The court’s decision was supported by 132 countries in the UN General Assembly. However, the US cable claims that Vanuatu’s proposed resolution is based on “speculative climate models” and seeks to assign blame for climate change.

Vanuatu has announced plans to put the draft resolution to a vote by the end of March, which would strengthen global climate action and multilateral cooperation. The resolution has been endorsed by several countries, including Barbados, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Jamaica, Kenya, and others that are already experiencing the effects of climate change.

The US government’s opposition to the resolution comes as President Trump has withdrawn the US from UN climate bodies and threatened sanctions on diplomats who voted for a levy on polluting shipping fuels.

Source: Al Jazeera