By Pita Ligaiula in Honiara, Solomon Islands
Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on climate change is not just a legal milestone but a “blueprint for structural change” at the national, regional and global levels.
Speaking at a side event on understanding the ICJ opinion in Honiara, at the margins of the Forum Leaders Meeting, Regenvanu said Vanuatu has already begun integrating the ruling into its domestic policies.
“We are integrating these conclusions into our NDC, which our Council approved last week. Climate due diligence will become part of the state’s governance architecture. All licensing, permitting and procurement should pass through an ICJ implementation test to ensure projects are consistent with our duty to prevent climate harm,” he said.
Regenvanu said the transformation will take time but will ensure long-term accountability.
“We will restructure mitigation and protection laws to reflect the principle of non-refoulement, ensuring climate-displaced persons are protected with dignity.
We are safeguarding our sovereignty by securing maritime zones so that rising seas cannot erase them. And we will establish a national loss and damage claims and evidence facility, supported by a national loss and damage fund,” he said.
At the regional level, Regenvanu said the ICJ opinion confirmed that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right under international law.
“For the Pacific, this opens the door to regional recognition of this right. Embedding it would give our people a stronger shield against climate harm and another tool to hold harmful conduct accountable,” he said.
He added that the ICJ opinion makes clear that Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are more than voluntary pledges.
“This makes NDCs legal benchmarks. The Pacific should use this opinion to advocate for more ambitious commitments at COP30, robust loss and damage finance, and a rapid end to fossil fuel expansion,” Regenvanu said.
He said the ruling, backed by decades of treaties and science, confirmed that climate change is “a quintessentially universal risk.”
“At national, regional, and international levels, these structural changes will turn the advisory opinion into real accountability and action,” Regenvanu said.
