UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to support strong action to limit climate change, despite recent diplomatic efforts by the United States to reverse the measure.
The 193-member world body has approved a non-binding resolution supporting: groundbreaking advisory opinion Last July, the United Nations Supreme Court ruled that countries’ failure to protect the planet from climate change was a violation of international law.
“The world’s highest court has decided. Today, the General Assembly has responded,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. “This is a powerful affirmation of international law, climate justice, science, and the responsibility of nations to protect people from the escalating climate crisis.”
The vote was 141-8, with 28 abstentions. The world’s largest oil producers and major emitters of greenhouse gases, including the United States, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, also opposed the measure. Climate change is primarily caused by the combustion of coal, oil, and gas.
The document includes the adoption of a national climate action plan to limit global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Phasing out subsidies for fossil fuel exploration, production, and development. It also requires violators to pay “full compensation” for damages.
of 2015 Paris Climate Agreement Since the pre-industrial era, i.e. the mid-1800s, we have set a goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and this slogan was born. “1.5 to stay alive” But now scientists say even their best-case scenario still exceeds that signature temperature mark.
The UN resolution originally included stronger language from the International Court of Justice opinion calling for the establishment of an “international damage register” to record evidence and allegations, but it was removed after more than a dozen consultations to gain more support.
Despite this, the adoption took place. Reported by Associated Press In February, it was revealed that the Trump administration had asked other countries to pressure Vanuatu, the small island nation that originally proposed the draft, to withdraw from consideration.
In guidance issued to all U.S. embassies and consulates, the State Department said it “strongly opposes” the proposal and that its adoption “could pose a significant threat to U.S. industry.”
On Wednesday, Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, once again condemned the bill as “very problematic” and argued that despite changes to the draft, the U.S. government still has serious legal and policy concerns.
“The resolution contains inappropriate political demands on fossil fuels and other climate issues,” Bruce told Congress before the vote.
However, representatives of Vanuatu and other island countries fear for their survival Because of the impacts of climate change, he said it was important that the General Assembly supported the Court’s opinion, which was hailed as a turning point in international climate law.
“We need to be honest with each other about why this is important,” Vanuatu’s ambassador to the UN, Odo Tebi, said before the vote. “This is important because the damage is real and is already occurring on islands and along coastlines in communities facing drought and crop failure.”
He added: “Very often the states and peoples who bear the heaviest burden are those who contribute the least to the problem.”
This action by the world body follows decades of frustration among Pacific nations who have seen their homelands disappear.
With an average elevation of just 2 meters (6.6 feet) above sea level, more than a third of Tuvalu’s population applies for climate change visas to Australia, although only a limited number are accepted each year. By 2100, large parts of the country are predicted to be underwater at high tide.
In Nauru, the government has started selling passports to wealthy foreigners, offering them visa-free access to dozens of countries, in an effort to generate income for potential emigration.
Louis Charbonneau, director of U.N. Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Wednesday that by upholding the court’s decision, the U.N. “reaffirmed its global commitment to protecting human rights.” He noted that this occurred “despite the efforts of the United States and other oil producing countries to thwart attempts to combat climate change.”
