The Trump administration has attempted to sink a UN resolution spearheaded by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, which calls for countries to implement a landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year that could hold nations liable for reparations if they fail to address the climate crisis. Vanuatu, among several island countries facing existential threats from climate change despite minimal contribution to its causes, was forced to remove sections of its draft resolution due to pressure from the US and other major fossil fuel producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia, in hopes of securing adoption in a UN vote later this month.

Vanuatu's Minister for Climate Change Adaptation, Ralph Regenvanu, stated, "Having the Trump administration actively intervening to stop the phase-out of fossil fuels is very frustrating, it's beyond what you'd expect a government to do." He added that this would have a huge harmful effect on the world and future generations. A US State Department cable allegedly claimed that "President Trump has delivered a very clear message: that the UN and many nations of the world have gone wildly off track, exaggerating climate change into the world's greatest threat."

The opposition led to the removal of a provision requiring countries to submit a registry of "loss and damage" from climate impacts such as storms, floods, and droughts, which was strenuously opposed by the US, the world's second-largest carbon emitter, over fears of legal liability. However, a revised draft still outlines that UN member states "comply fully with their obligations under international law as they relate to climate change" consistent with the ICJ ruling and restrain global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels via "a rapid, just and quantified phase-out of fossil fuel production and use." Regenvanu noted, "The US asked us to withdraw the resolution, which is disappointing, and pushed back on the language."

While Vanuatu has support from a coalition including the Netherlands, Colombia, Barbados, Kenya, Jamaica, and the Philippines, Regenvanu said opposition has been "more effective than from those in support" and criticized the European Union for "not being as helpful as we expected." The Trump regime has broadly undermined global climate cooperation, such as by withdrawing the US from the UN climate treaty and seizing control of Venezuela's oil industry. Experts like Noah Gordon of the Carnegie Endowment suggest the resolution could lay the groundwork for future international climate law, even if ignored by the current US administration.

Regenvanu emphasized that while global attention is drawn to conflicts in Iran, Ukraine, and Gaza, the primary threat for many countries remains the climate crisis, citing a 2015 tropical cyclone that wiped out 64% of Vanuatu's GDP. Such disasters are increasingly affecting the US as well, with home insurance becoming unavailable in some areas due to extreme weather. He concluded, "This is the single greatest threat to our continued existence, security and livelihoods," urging the world to move away from fossil fuel interests despite the current low ebb in multilateralism.

Source: www.theguardian.com