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Defying efforts by the US to have it withdrawn, a landmark resolution on the legal obligations of countries to protect the planet from climate change has passed a critical next step.<\/p>\n
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The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday (20 May) to support strong action to limit climate change despite fierce campaigning against it by fossil fuel producing countries.<\/p>\n
The 193-member world body approved a non-binding resolution endorsing the landmark advisory opinion<\/a> by the UN\u2019s top court last July that called failure by countries to protect the planet from climate change a violation of international law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world\u2019s highest court has spoken. Today, the General Assembly has answered,\u201d UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said in a statement. \u201cThis is a powerful affirmation of international law, climate justice, science, and the responsibility of states to protect people from the escalating climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n The resolution not only reaffirms the International Court of Justice’s ruling on the legal obligations of states on climate change, including reducing their climate harm and tackling fossil fuels, but also ensures there will be a process for advancing compliance with the ruling.<\/p>\n Which countries opposed the climate protection measure?<\/p>\n The vote was 141-8 with 28 abstentions. The US, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia \u2013 some of the highest oil-producing nations and major greenhouse gas emitters \u2013 opposed the measure. Climate change is caused mainly by the burning of coal, oil and gas.<\/p>\n The text includes adopting a national climate action plan to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius<\/a>; phasing out subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, production and exploitation; and urging those in violation to provide \u201cfull reparation\u201d for damage.<\/p>\n The Paris climate agreement in 2015<\/a> set a goal of limiting warming to 1.5\u00b0C since pre-industrial times, or the mid-1800s, giving rise to the mantra \u201c1.5 to stay alive\u201d, but now scientists say even their best-case scenario still shoots past that signature temperature mark.<\/p>\n The UN resolution had initially included stronger language from the ICJ opinion that called for establishing an \u201cInternational Register of Damage\u201d to record evidence and claims, but it was removed after nearly a dozen consultations in order to receive more support.<\/p>\n The adoption came despite reporting<\/a> in February that the Trump administration had been urging other nations to press the small island country of Vanuatu \u2013 the draft’s original sponsor \u2013 to withdraw it from consideration.<\/p>\n In guidance issued to all US embassies and consulates, the State Department had said it \u201cstrongly objects\u201d to the proposal and that its adoption \u201ccould pose a major threat to US industry\u201d.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Tammy Bruce, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, blasted the measure once again, calling it \u201chighly problematic\u201d and maintaining that Washington has serious legal and policy concerns despite changes to the draft.<\/p>\n \u201cThe resolution includes inappropriate political demands relating to fossil fuels and on other climate topics,\u201d Bruce told the assembly before the vote.<\/p>\n Vanuatu: ‘The harm is real and it is already here’<\/p>\n But representatives from Vanuatu<\/a> and other island nations, who fear for their survival because of the impact of climate change, said it was important for the General Assembly to back the court opinion, which was hailed as a turning point in international climate law.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should be honest with one another about why this matters,\u201d Odo Tevi, the Vanuatu ambassador to the UN, said before the vote. \u201cIt matters because the harm is real and it is already here, along our islands and coastlines, for communities facing drought and failed harvests.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cThe states and peoples bearing the heaviest burden<\/a> are very often those who contributed least to the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n The action by the world body follows decades of frustration for Pacific nations that are watching their homelands disappear.<\/p>\n