Vanuatu Is Taking the World to Court Over Climate Change

The island state of Vanuatu pushed through a historic UN motion that calls on the International Court of Justice, the world’s highest court, to establish countries’ legal duties to address the climate crisis. The ICJ will provide an 'opinion' on what countries can do to cut emissions and protect people and protect climate-vulnerable people. Although the opinion won’t be legally binding, it will carry huge weight and could be used in climate negotiations and future climate lawsuits. Vanuatu is an 80-island South Pacific archipelago and one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. In March 2023, it was hit by two category-4 cyclones in three days causing damage that amounts to more than half the country’s GDP. Experts say the disaster was triggered by global warming. Vanuatu itself is already net zero