US EditionThe tiny Pacific nation of Vanuatu turns to the world court as climate disasters mount
VANUATU, JUL 22 – Vanuatu leads a case backed by over 130 countries seeking legal clarity on nations' climate change duties amid severe environmental threats and rising sea levels.
- Vanuatu is experiencing more severe storms, escalating sea levels, and the encroachment of seawater into freshwater areas, while a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in December 2024 has altered its coastlines and impacted everyday life.
- These disasters follow earlier damage from Cyclone Pam in 2015 and back-to-back cyclones in 2023 that severely destroyed coral reefs and agricultural crops.
- Local community members report losing everything for months after storms, teaching children in tents, relocating homes inland, and tainted drinking water due to saltwater intrusion.
- Vanuatu leads a case backed by over 130 countries at the International Court of Justice, which will issue a non-binding advisory opinion clarifying nations' legal climate obligations on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
- This legal case has the potential to impact global responsibility for addressing climate change, with Vanuatu's minister emphasizing the need to continue striving relentlessly to safeguard the future of their children.
18 Articles
18 Articles
ICJ climate ruling: Will the world's top court back a Pacific-led call to hold governments accountable for climate change?
Six years after a group of law students hatched an idea in a classroom in Port Vila, the International Court of Justice will deliver its verdict in The Hague.
The intensification of cyclones are transforming life on the island, where communities struggle to adapt to the constant threat of natural disasters and loss of habitable territory
LancasterOnline
The tiny Pacific nation of Vanuatu turns to the world court as climate disasters mount
The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu is living with the daily realities of climate change, as intensifying cyclones, rising seas and saltwater intrusion reshape its coasts and disrupt life. Since 1993, sea levels around its islands have risen significantly faster…
From dying reefs to flooded graves, Vanuatu leads a global climate case
When John Warmington first began diving the reefs outside his home in Vanuatu’s Havannah Harbor a decade ago, the coral rose like a sunken forest — tall stands of staghorns branched into yellow antlers, plate corals layered like canopies, and clouds of darting fish wove through the labyrinth.
Chicago Tribune
Independent EspañolBy ANNIKA HAMMERSCHLAG PORT VILA, Vanuatu (AP) — When John Warmington began diving the reefs off his home in Vanuatu’s Havannah Harbour a decade ago, the coral rose like a submerged forest: Tall staghorn corals branched into yellow antlers, dish-shaped corals stacked like canopies, and clouds of darting fish zigzagged through the maze. “We used to know every inch of that reef,” he said. “It was like a friend.” Now it’s unrecognizable. After Cycl…
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