The United Nations General Assembly backed strong action to limit climate change on Wednesday, voting 141-8 with 28 abstentions to endorse an advisory opinion by the world court that last July found that states failing to protect the planet from climate change breach international law.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the outcome, saying in a statement that “The world’s highest court has spoken. Today, the General Assembly has answered,” and describing the vote as “a powerful affirmation of international law, climate justice, science, and the responsibility of states to protect people from the escalating climate crisis.”
The resolution, which the General Assembly adopted by nonbinding vote, also reflected an attempt to win broader support even as several major oil-producing countries opposed it, including the United States, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The text backs limits aimed at keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius and links stronger climate measures with questions of state responsibility.
The adopted language includes calls for countries to adopt national climate action plans to limit warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, to phase out subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, production and exploitation, and to urge those in violation to provide “full reparation” for climate-related damage. The measure’s adoption followed last year’s Paris climate agreement target of holding warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, a threshold that scientists have warned remains difficult to reach even under the most optimistic scenarios.
The text also came after the General Assembly initially included stronger language from the International Court of Justice opinion related to establishing an “International Register of Damage” to record evidence and claims. That part was removed after nearly a dozen consultations intended to increase support for the measure.
The vote moved forward despite recent U.S. diplomatic efforts to have the draft pulled, including State Department guidance to U.S. embassies and consulates that said the proposal “strongly objects” and that its adoption “could pose a major threat to U.S. industry.” In an earlier stage of the process, The Associated Press reported that the Trump administration had urged other nations to press Vanuatu, the draft’s original sponsor, to withdraw the proposal.
On Wednesday, Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, again criticized the resolution before the vote, calling it “highly problematic” and maintaining that Washington had “serious legal and policy concerns” despite changes to the draft. Bruce told the assembly that “The resolution includes inappropriate political demands relating to fossil fuels and on other climate topics.”
Representatives of Vanuatu and other island nations argued that endorsing the court opinion was important because climate impacts are already affecting lives and livelihoods. Odo Tevi, Vanuatu’s ambassador to the United Nations, said before the vote that “We should be honest with one another about why this matters,” adding that “It matters because the harm is real and it is already here, along our islands and coastlines, for communities facing drought and failed harvests.” He added that “The states and peoples bearing the heaviest burden are very often those who contributed least to the problem.”
The General Assembly’s action follows years of frustration among Pacific nations, where leaders say rising seas, drought and food insecurity are forcing difficult choices about migration and survival. In Tuvalu, the average elevation is about 2 meters (6.6 feet) above sea level, and the AP said more than a third of the population has applied for a climate migration visa to Australia, though only a limited number are accepted each year. In Nauru, the government has begun selling passports to wealthy foreigners as a revenue stream intended to support possible relocation.
Louis Charbonneau, the director of Human Rights Watch at the United Nations, said in a statement that by endorsing the court ruling, the U.N. “reaffirmed the global commitment to protect human rights,” while also noting that the endorsement came “despite efforts by the U.S. and other oil-producing states to stifle attempts to combat climate change.”