Children in Vanuatu are urging world leaders to heed the call of Pacific children and young people as a landmark action to clarify states’ obligations to address the climate crisis begins at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A statement from Save the Children conveyed that the action follows disappointment at COP29, where the world’s richest nations agreed to a $300 billion (USD) annual climate finance goal—a figure far below what is needed to confront the escalating climate emergency. Pacific children and youth now look to the ICJ for climate justice, hoping it will affirm the fundamental human rights at stake, particularly those of children.
The Republic of Vanuatu, alongside a coalition of Pacific Island law students, has led the initiative to seek an Advisory Opinion (AO) from the ICJ. This opinion aims to define the legal obligations of nations to take meaningful climate action. The proceedings commenced yesterday with an opening statement from Vanuatu.
Australia is also scheduled to present later in the day. A key feature of Vanuatu’s delegation to The Hague is the inclusion of a child representative, underscoring the urgency of amplifying young voices from the Pacific. Save the Children Vanuatu’s NextGen Youth Ambassador, Vepaiamele Trief, will represent her peers as part of the delegation.
Remarkably, Ms Trief celebrates her 16th birthday this week—a day she would typically spend with family and friends at home. Instead, she has chosen to advocate for climate justice at the ICJ, reflecting her deep commitment to ensuring children’s perspectives are heard at this pivotal moment. Save the Children reiterates the urgent need for global leaders to uphold their commitments and prioritise the well-being of future generations.
The ICJ’s AO could be a historic step in compelling nations to act on their responsibilities under international law to address the climate crisis. “I think adults should listen to children and young people. It’s very important for our voices to be involved more in discussions around climate change because it is our future that really matters and climate change is endangering our future; it’s kind of in jeopardy,” says Trief. “As a young Ni-Vanuatu girl, I feel the effects of climate change every day of every year. I’ve experienced many cyclones. It can be kind of terrifying sometimes, especially the really strong ones.
“Every cyclone, our classrooms are destroyed, our homes are flattened to the ground, and hospitals and communication towers are ripped apart. And then there are also the mental health impacts, and we don’t really talk about it that much, but it can really cause anxiety in children and young people.”
In March last year, Vanuatu, one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, was devastated by back-to-back Category 4 Tropical Cyclones (TCs) Judy and Kevin, impacting more than 80% of the country’s population. In the most affected provinces of TAFEA and SHEFA, the twin cyclones destroyed or severely damaged 90% of homes.
In October of the same year, Category 5 TC Lola further ravaged the country, causing additional infrastructure destruction and resulting in more than 100,000 children experiencing interruptions to school, reduced access to healthcare and food insecurity, with many remote communities taking months to recover. The South Pacific tropical cyclone season returned again on 1 November 2024.
Polly Banks, Save the Children Vanuatu Country Director, who has also travelled to The Hague for the proceedings, says this is a historic juncture in international law and climate justice.
“The hearing before the Court goes to questions about the efficacy, equity, and fairness of the current responses to climate change, which are particularly relevant for children, who have contributed the least to climate change but will be most affected by its consequences,” said Ms. Banks.
“Currently, only 2.4% of climate finance from multilateral funding sources is child-responsive. Even without the Court’s opinion, we know that states need to do far more to protect children from the worst impacts of this crisis, by significantly increasing climate finance to uphold children’s basic rights and access to health, education and protection.”
Trief agrees, “It is fundamental that children’s voices, especially those in the Pacific, are heard by the ICJ because as youth, our experiences in the climate crisis should not be our reality — as it is slowly becoming.
Young people and children should and are campaigning for climate action to protect our rights so we can enjoy the same environment those before us have enjoyed, and what future generations also have a right to enjoy.”
Save the Children has been working to elevate the voices of young people in the Pacific, including by working with young people in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands to share their perspectives and experiences of the climate crisis, supporting its NextGen Youth Ambassador and a Solomon Islands young person to travel to The Hague.
The organisation is partnering with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and national governments to deliver child-responsive climate action, including currently implementing two of the world’s largest locally led adaptation projects in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.
SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST
