Vanuatu Rips US-Led Fossil Fuel Expansion After Landmark World Court Ruling

Vanuatu's government on Wednesday hailed the landmark International Court of Justice advisory opinion that countries have a legal obligation to take cooperative action against the "urgent and existential threat" of human-caused planetary heating, while demanding an end to the impunity enjoyed by major polluters including the United States, which is leading an ecocidal fossil fuel expansion under President Donald Trump.

The ruling by the ICJ—a United Nations organ also known as the World Court—states that "climate change is a common concern" and "cooperation is not a matter of choice for states but a pressing need and a legal obligation."

Furthermore, the tribunal underscored that "nompliance with emission-reduction commitments by a state may constitute an internationally wrongful act," suggesting a legal mechanism for reparations for countries suffering loss and damage from climate harms caused by wealthier polluters.

Vanuatu Minister of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology and Geo-Hazards, Energy, Environment, and Disaster Management Ralph Regenvanu said in a statement that "the ICJ ruling marks an important milestone in the fight for climate justice."

"We now have a common foundation based on the rule of law, releasing us from the limitations of individual nations' political interests that have dominated climate action," he noted. "This moment will drive stronger action and accountability to protect our planet and peoples."

"The nations most responsible for emissions should be held accountable."

"Even as fossil fuel expansion continues under the U.S.' influence, along with the loss of climate finance and technology transfer, and the lack of climate ambition following the U.S.' withdrawal from the Paris agreement, major polluters—past and present—cannot continue to act with impunity and treat developing countries as sacrifice zones to further feed corporate greed," he continued.

"The Global South is bearing the brunt of a crisis it did not create," Regenvanu stressed. "Families are losing their homes, entire cultures are at risk of disappearing, and lives are being shattered by man-made climate disasters. The nations most responsible for emissions should be held accountable for any violations of legal obligations and they must also step up and lead in providing resources and support to aid those most affected."

"A victory in the world's highest court is just the beginning," he added. "Success will depend on what happens next through coordinated efforts across diplomacy, politics, litigation, and advocacy to turn this moment into a true turning point."

While some of the world's biggest polluters pursue fossil-fueled energy agendas, low-lying Pacific island nations including Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and the self-governing New Zealand territory of Niue are working to draft a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty (FFNPT). Such an accord would aim to end the expansion and phase out production of fossil fuels while ensuring a just transition to renewable energy. In 2023, California became the largest economy in the world to endorse a FFNPT.

Vanuatu was the first nation to endorse the FFNPT, having done so in 2022.

"Every day we are experiencing more debilitating consequences of the climate crisis," Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu said at the time. "Fundamental human rights are being violated, and we are measuring climate change not in degrees of Celsius or tons of carbon, but in human lives. This emergency is of our own making."