In the wake of the ICJ’s landmark advisory opinion on states’ legal obligations to address climate change, Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Change for the Republic of Vanuatu, speaks with Climate Group about what this ruling means for frontline nations, the fight for climate finance, and the youth-led movement that helped bring it to life.
Climate Group: The ICJ ruling confirming States’ legal obligations to address the climate crisis is a major step. How do you see it changing the global response, especially for vulnerable frontline nations?
Hon. Ralph Regenvanu: It is going to change the dynamic of legal cases that are being taken against governments worldwide and I expect a proliferation of new cases.
At the national level, this should drive policy change through domestic pressure, and in Vanuatu we are already taking steps in this direction with our updated NDCs. Internationally, heading to COP30, we will use the advisory opinion to strengthen our arguments with states, especially high emitters. It helps eliminate certain arguments that NDCs and related commitments are merely voluntary—we can now talk about states’ legal obligations.
Climate Group: As you said, this shifts the language from voluntary to obligatory. How will it impact climate finance talks, particularly looking at COP30?
Hon. Ralph Regenvanu: This ruling will assist in our negotiations at COP30.
The ICJ advisory opinion basically said that there are legal obligations of states and if breached, there are consequences. It also made it clear that climate finance is an obligation under international law. And so, it's not so much a charitable giving exercise as it has been defined to date, but it's a way to restitute and repair harm done.
Climate Group: We talk a lot about loss and damage in the Pacific. What’s the reality in Vanuatu? Tell us about some of the climate impacts you are facing.
Hon. Ralph Regenvanu: Across the Pacific, a very clear example of loss and damage both in the physical and spiritual sense is the fact that cemeteries have washed into the sea—burial grounds of ancestors now lost. So how do you compensate for that? How do you compensate for losing the burial grounds of your ancestors?
Sea-level rise is forcing communities from land they’ve lived on for centuries. Public infrastructure including schools, hospitals, roads are repeatedly destroyed by cyclones and extreme weather. Small island states lack the resources to rebuild year after year yet are burdened with huge financial costs despite being a low income, developing states.
Climate Group: Thank you for sharing that poignant example. This process started in 2019 in a classroom in Vanuatu. Tell us how it began and what it feels like to see it come to fruition.
Hon. Ralph Regenvanu: The students made the appeal to the Pacific Island governments in 2019, and Vanuatu took it forward internationally. Despite the delay due to domestic political changes, we eventually got to the stage of UN negotiations and the historic UNGA resolution in 2023. This is the first time all states agreed to refer a question to the ICJ.
It’s been a six-year process but still a very good outcome for us.
Climate Group: Climate Week NYC and UNGA are major advocacy moments leading into COP30. You’re playing a big role—why is this so important?
Hon. Ralph Regenvanu: I am hoping to make it very clear that this was a youth movement. The fact that a youth movement, a small group of Pacific Island students, could achieve such a momentous outcome is hope to people everywhere who are advocating for climate justice or for positive change, that you can make a difference.
We’ll now return to the UN to push for a resolution endorsing and operationalizing the advisory opinion. We are still raising awareness and advocating.
For the civil society justice movement, this is a validation that you can get change if you push hard enough.
Thank you.