SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Young villagers play in the Pacific Ocean in the village of Waisisi on December 3, 2019 in Tanna, Vanuatu. 25 percent of Vanuatu's 276,000 citizens lost their homes when Cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, devastated the South Pacific archipelago of 83 islands in 2015. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Addressing Crisis 'Existentially Imperiling' Its People, Vanuatu Declares Climate Emergency
"We are in danger now, not just in the future," said Prime Minister Bob Loughman.
May 28, 2022
Vanuatu on Friday declared a climate emergency, blaming the ecological crisis for "undermining the fundamental human rights of present and future generations" on the South Pacific island nation.
Its Parliament unanimously passed the motion introduced by Prime Minister Bob Loughman.
"The climate crisis is a human rights crisis," said Loughman.
"Civil society and friends, this is not a crisis that I or my people will continue to accept; not before we have done everything within our powers to stop it," he added.
MP for Port Vila and opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu shared the news on Twitter. He wrote that the first of the resolution's 17 points states, "The Parliament of Vanuatu declares that a climate emergency exists that is now existentially imperiling the people, societies, and natural resources of the Republic of Vanuatu."
The nation, as Loughman noted, is already being impacted by extreme weather events fueled by the climate emergency--a crisis to which it's contributed little.
"The Earth is already too hot and unsafe," he said. "We are in danger now, not just in the future."
The declaration won praise from climate activist Gladys Habu of the Solomon Islands, who said, "Thank you Vanuatu for leading the way."
Last year, Vanuatu said it would call on the International Court of Justice to clarify nations' responsibilities on climate with respect to present and future generations, a campaign that's now gathered support from 1,500 civil society groups.
In a tweet welcoming the emergency declaration, the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network praised Vanuatu for being a consistent advocate for bold climate action.
"The Vanuatu Government has always led the way when it comes to bold climate action and addressing the climate crisis with the urgency that it deserves," the group said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Vanuatu on Friday declared a climate emergency, blaming the ecological crisis for "undermining the fundamental human rights of present and future generations" on the South Pacific island nation.
Its Parliament unanimously passed the motion introduced by Prime Minister Bob Loughman.
"The climate crisis is a human rights crisis," said Loughman.
"Civil society and friends, this is not a crisis that I or my people will continue to accept; not before we have done everything within our powers to stop it," he added.
MP for Port Vila and opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu shared the news on Twitter. He wrote that the first of the resolution's 17 points states, "The Parliament of Vanuatu declares that a climate emergency exists that is now existentially imperiling the people, societies, and natural resources of the Republic of Vanuatu."
The nation, as Loughman noted, is already being impacted by extreme weather events fueled by the climate emergency--a crisis to which it's contributed little.
"The Earth is already too hot and unsafe," he said. "We are in danger now, not just in the future."
The declaration won praise from climate activist Gladys Habu of the Solomon Islands, who said, "Thank you Vanuatu for leading the way."
Last year, Vanuatu said it would call on the International Court of Justice to clarify nations' responsibilities on climate with respect to present and future generations, a campaign that's now gathered support from 1,500 civil society groups.
In a tweet welcoming the emergency declaration, the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network praised Vanuatu for being a consistent advocate for bold climate action.
"The Vanuatu Government has always led the way when it comes to bold climate action and addressing the climate crisis with the urgency that it deserves," the group said.
Vanuatu on Friday declared a climate emergency, blaming the ecological crisis for "undermining the fundamental human rights of present and future generations" on the South Pacific island nation.
Its Parliament unanimously passed the motion introduced by Prime Minister Bob Loughman.
"The climate crisis is a human rights crisis," said Loughman.
"Civil society and friends, this is not a crisis that I or my people will continue to accept; not before we have done everything within our powers to stop it," he added.
MP for Port Vila and opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu shared the news on Twitter. He wrote that the first of the resolution's 17 points states, "The Parliament of Vanuatu declares that a climate emergency exists that is now existentially imperiling the people, societies, and natural resources of the Republic of Vanuatu."
The nation, as Loughman noted, is already being impacted by extreme weather events fueled by the climate emergency--a crisis to which it's contributed little.
"The Earth is already too hot and unsafe," he said. "We are in danger now, not just in the future."
The declaration won praise from climate activist Gladys Habu of the Solomon Islands, who said, "Thank you Vanuatu for leading the way."
Last year, Vanuatu said it would call on the International Court of Justice to clarify nations' responsibilities on climate with respect to present and future generations, a campaign that's now gathered support from 1,500 civil society groups.
In a tweet welcoming the emergency declaration, the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network praised Vanuatu for being a consistent advocate for bold climate action.
"The Vanuatu Government has always led the way when it comes to bold climate action and addressing the climate crisis with the urgency that it deserves," the group said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.