Photo Illustration ICJ
By AFP - Agence France Presse
'Big disappointment' at ICJ climate hearings: Global South representative
By Richard CARTER
As the marathon climate change hearings drew to a close on Friday at the world's top court, a representative of vulnerable nations expressed “huge disappointment” at the attitude of major polluters and called on judges to make them legally responsible for historic emissions.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been the scene of history over the past 10 days, with a record number of nations and organizations addressing the court.
More than 100 speakers have presented, from diplomats from the world's leading economies to representatives of small island nations making their first appearance before the UN's top court.
In what many experts described as a “David and Goliath” dispute, deep divisions emerged between the main polluters and those suffering most from climate change.
Major powers such as the United States, China, and India have warned the judges not to go beyond the existing legal framework for combating climate change.
But smaller countries argue that this project, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is insufficient to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change.
Cristelle Pratt, representing a group of 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, told AFP that there had been “huge disappointment” with the developed countries but that this was not surprising.
“We can't rely on climate treaties alone to tackle this global crisis,” said Pratt from the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States.
“We need to look at the whole body of international law. And we need to do that for the sake of equity and justice. Every human being on this planet has the right to live a dignified life,” he added.
The panel of 15 ICJ judges was tasked with drafting the so-called advisory opinion to answer two questions.
Firstly, what legal obligations do nations have to prevent climate change? Secondly, what are the legal consequences for countries whose emissions have damaged the environment, especially that of developing countries?
It is on this second question that many vulnerable countries hope the ICJ will clarify a legal requirement for historical emitters to pay for the damage caused.
“We need to look at historical responsibilities and hold these emitters accountable, especially the colonial powers,” said Pratt.
“That's certainly something we in the global south hope to hear,” she added, mentioning that many of her member countries were paying ‘unsustainable debts’.
The ICJ's advisory opinion is non-binding and will take many months to be issued.
Nikki Reisch, director of the climate and energy program at the Center for International Environmental Law, said that the decision “will have repercussions around the world.”
“This is the highest court in the world, and its opinion will carry weight ..... There is an opportunity for this court to break the impunity we have seen for decades and assert the basis for accountability,” she told AFP.
“It's not just about paying compensation for the growing cost of climate change. It's about structural reforms, canceling debts, restoring ecosystems,” she added.
The countries Pratt represents have a population of 1.3 billion people but produce 3% of global emissions, she noted.
After bitter climate negotiations at COP29, rich polluters agreed to find at least 300 billion dollars a year by 2035 to help poorer countries transition to clean energy and prepare for the rise in extreme weather.
“The pledges are quite insignificant,” said Pratt.
Several big polluters argued that it is impossible to enshrine responsibility for past emissions and the damage caused by international law.
“We have seen repeatedly here in these halls that the fossil fuel giants... have asked this court to ignore history, to sweep under the carpet their historic conduct, the decades of conduct that brought the world to the brink,” Reisch said.
The hearings were also marked by the presence of representatives from small island states, often in colorful national costumes, recounting harrowing stories of the devastation suffered by their people.
“These hearings have highlighted the fact that this is a matter of life and death for so many people,” Reisch told AFP.
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