The United Nations’ top court began its largest-ever case on Monday, involving a review of the urgent appeals of small island nations grappling with the severe impacts of climate change. The nations argue that their survival is at stake, and they are calling for major polluting countries to be held accountable.
Despite growing international focus and funding for climate-vulnerable regions—highlighted by the newly signed USD 300 billion COP29 deal and a landmark case at the UN’s top court this week—activists from territories such as Curaçao and Mayotte argue that their struggles remain largely neglected and underfunded.
Small islands face the harshest impacts of worsening climate change, from rising sea levels and temperatures to increasingly frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and hurricanes.
Last year, the U.N. General Assembly requested that the International Court of Justice render an opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.”
“The stakes could not be higher,” said Arnold Kiel Loughman, Attorney General of the Vanuatu archipelago, during the court’s opening session of the two-week hearing. “The survival of my people and so many others is on the line.”
“As the principal legal officer of my country, I have come before this court because domestic legal remedies are unable to address a crisis of this scope and magnitude,” he told the court.