Environmental changes, developing countries in the World Court

 Saturday 14 December 2024

Islamabad (Point News Today / Pakistan Point News - DW News - 14th December 2024) Developing countries have urged the court to hold developing countries responsible for the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and climate change.

For the past ten days, arguments have been made at the International Court of Justice by various countries and organizations regarding the responsibility for climate change and the increase in the amount of carbon gases in the atmosphere.

During this time, more than 100 speakers gave their speeches in the court. They included ambassadors from the world's major economies to representatives of small island nations facing survival threats due to climate change, who appeared for the first time in this highest court of the United Nations.

Experts have been calling the hearing a "David vs. Goliath" clash, where a clear division was seen between the powers responsible for high pollution and the countries most affected by climate change.

Major powerful countries such as the United States, China and India warned the judges not to go beyond the existing legal framework to deal with climate change. But smaller countries say current rules under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are insufficient to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change.

Christelle Pratt, representing the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific nations, told AFP she was “deeply disappointed” by the behavior of developed countries, but that the behavior was not unexpected.

“We cannot rely solely on environmental agreements to fight this global crisis. We need to rethink the entire framework of international law and we need to do this for justice and equality. Every human being on this planet has the right to live a life of dignity.”

The 15-judge panel of the ICJ has been asked to prepare an advisory opinion to answer two questions.

The first question asks what legal obligations different countries have to prevent climate change. The second question is, what will be the legal consequences for countries whose emissions damage the environment?