Vanuatu Climate Minister Ralph Regenvanu On UN Ocean Conference
Press Release – Government of Vanuatu
Nice Action Plan comes ahead of anticipated ruling from International Court of Justice that could set path for climate action linked to accountability
'It is time to move beyond voluntary pledges to making climate action a binding legal duty.'
Statement from Ralph Regenvanu,
Minister of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology & Geo-Hazards, Energy, Environment and Disaster Management for the Republic of Vanuatu
NICE, FRANCE (9 June 2025)
'At this UN Ocean Conference, the stakes could not be clearer.
'Vanuatu's contributions to climate change are minimal, yet we — and our neighbours — suffer severe repeated climate impacts that devastate our economy and people. We are living through the collapse of ocean stability and witnessing a dangerous acceleration in sea-level rise and ocean temperatures. Our oceans are increasingly hostile even to the very creatures that live in them. The consequences of this will ripple through the entire food chain, hitting vulnerable countries like Vanuatu the hardest and ultimately affecting all of humanity and future generations. The role of our ocean as our greatest carbon sink is being threatened.
'The Nice Ocean Action Plan aligns with the standards set by the landmark International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Advisory Opinion delivered in May 2024, which made it clear: greenhouse gas emissions are marine pollution. And under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, all States are legally bound to prevent, reduce, and control them. This obligation extends not only to domestic emissions but to global ones as well.
'Even so, plans like these are voluntary. Promises without enforcement. Declarations without duty.
'Protecting the ocean from climate change should not be a matter of choice. We need concrete mechanisms and independent monitoring to ensure that nations uphold their legal responsibilities. Conferences like this one, and the upcoming COP30, must not leave frontline nations feeling that nothing is changing — despite the overwhelming urgency.
'It is time to move beyond voluntary pledges to making climate action a binding legal duty.' Climate action must be grounded in a robust framework of legal principles: human rights, the right to self-determination, the duty to prevent harm, precautionary approaches, intergenerational equity, and obligations enshrined in key international treaties — from the Biodiversity Convention to the UNFCCC to the Law of the Sea.
'That's why we eagerly await the International Court of Justice's Advisory Opinion on the broader climate obligations of nations, in hopes of a strong ruling supporting global accountability for the climate crisis and enforceable climate action.
'It's time for States to catch up with the law, with the science, and with the urgency of this moment.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
Health Community Welcomes Bonn Deal To Monitor Climate Finance But Criticises Rich Countries' Efforts To Shirk Duties
Bonn, 27 June 2025:- As the UN's SB62 Climate Change Conference closed just after midnight, the Global Climate and Health Alliance welcomed a breakthrough agreement between governments to pursue monitoring of urgently needed finance for adaptation as part of tracking progress towards a Global Goal on Adaptation, but condemned attempts by rich countries to avoid discussion on their climate finance responsibilities. 'With people's lives on the line, grants-based public finance must urgently be delivered to adequately protect the health and wellbeing of people most vulnerable to climate impacts - as aligned with their Paris Agreement responsibilities', said Jess Beagley, Policy Lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, which brings together over 200 health professionals and health civil society organisations and networks to address climate change. 'After ten hours of fighting over tracking adaptation finance today, the talks ended up in a better place than anyone had hoped'. 'Here in Bonn, rich countries sought to avoid engaging in discussions relating to provision of finance to developing countries impacted by climate change in line with their responsibilities under the Paris Agreement. This presents a serious barrier to progress in implementation, but also risks undermining trust in multilateralism.' 'However, agreement to monitor finance and other means of implementation for adaptation is a decisive step forward, and developed countries must now deliver on their commitments to ensure actions can be implemented to protect human health in the face of growing climate hazards to protect a healthy climate future', said Beagley. The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) is aimed at increasing global adaptation efforts, while enhancing support for the countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Climate Finance During the Bonn meeting, a group of rich countries blocked the addition of an agenda item focussed on provision of finance by developed countries to developing countries. This delayed adoption of the meeting agenda until the second day, wasting valuable time. Consultations on a roadmap due at COP30 to scale climate finance to the USD 1.3 trillion requested by developing countries last year l heavily featured private finance rather than public finance. 'Without sufficient grants-based public finance, developing countries will become further trapped in cycles of debt, poverty and disease', said Beagley. 'Over the coming months, rich governments can redeem themselves by demonstrating willingness to prioritise public grants from developed to developing countries. Developed countries must provide funding to prevent worsening climate change by addressing its causes; funding for countries to build resilience against the climate impacts they are already facing; and funding to recover and rebuild from destruction that they were unable to avoid.' 'The governments of developed countries have a moral responsibility to ensure the countries that have contributed the least to climate change but are facing its harshest impacts receive crucial international support', said Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. 'From flooding that destroys homes and clinics and spreads cholera, to heatwaves that overwhelm hospitals with patients, to droughts and weather instability that ruin harvests, to wildfires spreading toxic smoke to communities thousands of miles away, in every country people are suffering from the impacts of climate change; low income developing countries are the most severely harmed and the least able to respond to and recover from the damages from this problem that they did not cause.' 'Fossil fuels are at the root of climate change, as well as of air pollution and plastic contamination, as well as polluting our water and soil pollution. November's COP30 must take a great leap towards ending the fossil fuel age and its devastating impact on human health', said Miller. Fossil Fuel Phase Out 'Dependence on fossil fuels is the primary driver of health impacts from climate change, which is already straining healthcare systems around the world', said Beagley. 'Fossil fuel use is also a key air pollution culprit, causing millions of deaths annually from respiratory and cardiovascular disease, as well as developmental and cognitive issues.' 'Ahead of COP30, governments must agree to pursue and support just transition pathways across countries and sectors, including to improve clean and safe renewable energy access and clean cooking, in order to protect the human right to health - especially for women and children most exposed to indoor air pollution'. Ending Fossil Fuel Industry Influence The SB62 Bonn meeting featured no developments on addressing fossil fuel industry interference in climate negotiations, and UNFCCC has not advanced any plans to deal with this interference - despite written calls from civil society, a demonstration, press briefing and event during SB62.
Scoop
10 hours ago
- Scoop
Breakthrough For Justice At Bonn Climate Talks - Amidst A System In Crisis
Bonn, Germany, 26 June 2025 - After two tense weeks of negotiations, one breakthrough emerged in the SB 62 climate talks: civil society's Just Transition priorities were officially tabled in the UN climate process, thanks to relentless pressure from social movements, workers, and frontline communities. This vital step opens the door in the fight for transitions that put people first - ensuring climate action centres justice, dignity, and decent work, rather than enabling corporate greenwashing or elite control. But beyond this opening, Bonn laid bare a system in crisis. Even as NATO leaders just 200km away pledged more than US$1 trillion a year in additional military spending, rich polluting countries showed up at the climate talks pleading poverty. The silence on war, genocide, and rising global inequality was deafening. Despite the escalating toll of climate impacts and injustice, these talks revealed a growing chasm between the urgent demands of communities on the frontlines of climate breakdown and the hollow, evasive language of a process struggling to retain relevance. Negotiations on adaptation were little more than a smokescreen. Developed nations dodged their financial obligations towards developing countries once again, and held the process hostage, preventing progress. The ghost of Baku haunted the talks, with developing countries facing fierce pushback when they united in their demand for a formal agenda item on the provision of climate finance by developed countries. And it's clear the so-called 'Baku to Belém' roadmap remains riddled with holes. Without new, additional and grant-based public finance from historical emitters, there will be no money to fund a real Just Transition, no closing of the ambition gap, and no hope of holding the line at 1.5°C. The COP30 Presidency and all parties must put a plan in place to address the critical issue of the provision of climate finance, or risk a blow up. As countries belatedly prepare their new climate action plans (Nationally Determined Contributions), one thing is clear: they will fall far short of what is needed. Despite this, there was a resounding silence around the ambition gap that is so clearly emerging. Countries that hold historic responsibility for the climate crisis continue to expand oil and gas exploration while pushing developing countries to shoulder the burden they themselves refuse to bear - both in cutting emissions and providing climate finance. It's a double standard that deepens injustice and delays real action. Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of Climate Action Network International, said: 'Enough is enough. While bombs get billions and polluters are increasing their record profits, Bonn has once again exposed a system rigged to protect polluters and profiteers - complicit in a global order that funds destruction but balks at paying for survival. "But even in this broken space, people's power shone through. Due to the relentless pressure from civil society, the Just Transition fight finally made it into the formal process, laying the table for a win for workers, for communities, and for every person fighting to build a future rooted in dignity and hope. Decision-makers must come to Belém with the commitment to make this a reality. "As this process drifts further from the real world, it is grassroots movements that continue to lead the way - resisting delay, greenwashing, and false solutions with vision, urgency, and courage. From the streets of Bonn to the heart of Belém, the fight for climate justice is turning into a roar that cannot be ignored." Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada: 'The world is facing a treacherous moment. Political headwinds and unfair economic rules are preventing the level of climate action we need. The UNFCCC feels increasingly disconnected from the real world. 'Amidst the dark clouds of these existential challenges to the planet and to this process, there is a ray of sunshine: parties are finding common ground around a Just Transition. The text forwarded to Belem offers us a fighting chance to a COP30 outcome that truly connects workers, communities and Peoples with the Paris Agreement.' Amiera Sawas, Head of Research & Policy, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative: 'As the Northern hemisphere suffers deadly heatwaves, UN climate talks remain frozen in an out-of-touch process. War and military spending escalated outside, while inside there was no discussion—and no finance. Civil society fought to bring negotiations into the real world, but geopolitics and the fossil fuel lobby kept derailing progress. Even successes, like the draft text for the 'Just Transition Work Programme' informed by workers and Indigenous Peoples, were nearly paralyzed by fossil fuel interests at the end. We are already at risk of breaching the 1.5 temperature limit, there's no time for paralysis. There's a real risk that the UN climate talks fail to address the crisis's biggest drivers: coal, oil, and gas. We cannot afford any more failure, we must urgently do better. And we will - whether inside or outside the UN. Brazil is talking big but its actions speak louder than words and its recent approval of new oil extraction in the Amazon is the worst possible signal.' Stela Herschmann, Climate Policy Specialist for Observatório do Clima (Brazil): 'This is a party-driven process. What the Bonn meeting showed us is that the parties want to discuss public finance. Despite Brazil's best intentions to streamline the agenda and make progress on other issues, it may not be possible to do so without including a conversation about public finance in the official COP30 agenda. 'Brazil had three priorities for Bonn. One of them, Just Transition, saw good progress and produced a preparatory text with key asks from civil society organizations so this work program can actually deliver justice to the people. The other two resemble Baku. The text on indicators for the global goal of adaptation advanced well but is being held until the last minute due to the discussion around finance and means of implementation. The UAE dialogue on the implementation of the Global Stocktake, did not progress as much. We will leave Bonn with two similar documents because the parties could not agree on a single informal note, and we can expect to see the same disputes over the scope and modalities in Belém.' Mariana Paoli, Global Advocacy Lead, Christian Aid: 'The Bonn climate talks have shown that there's hangover from the chaotic ending at COP29 in Baku. Finance remains the elephant in the room. While negotiators circled around the issue in Boon , limited progress was made. We cannot afford another year of delay - COP30 must deliver where COP29 fell short. 'There has been an over reliance on the illusion that private finance will solve the climate crisis. Its growing presence in these spaces is starting to resemble a Trojan horse. Public grants based finance is essential to deliver climate action, decisions should be done based on the needs of communities and not profits and should be rooted in fairness and science.' Teresa Anderson, ActionAid International: "Rich countries' continued refusal to put real climate finance on the table means that climate talks are facing uncertain times. For once, however, it's not all bad news. Governments are starting to get excited about Just Transition, and shaping energy and food systems in a way that really works for workers, women, farmers and communities. This comes at such a critical time, amid so much economic uncertainty, when many people feel they are being forced to choose between their immediate needs and a climate safe future. If approved at COP30, the Just Transition mechanism will deliver action on the ground, requiring and supporting governments to put people's needs first and foremost at the start of every climate plan. This represents a major evolution in climate action, and the spark of hope that our planet urgently needs." Nithi Nesadurai, Director & Regional Coordinator, CAN Southeast Asia: 'The Bonn climate meeting took place within the backdrop of a continuing genocide in Gaza, a hot war and the NATO Summit. Interestingly, while developed countries blocked decisions on their financial obligations on all the major climate negotiating items, a short distance away in The Hague, NATO members readily agreed to increase their military budgets to 5 per cent of GDP. Easily amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, it shows finance is available, unlike what they implied in the Bonn negotiations. If not for the progress on the Just Transition Work Programme, which gives civil society a core issue to rally around on the road to Belem, this meeting offered little to get excited about on all other fronts.' Nafkote Dabi, Climate Policy Lead, Oxfam International: 'The Bonn conference exposes the stark injustice between rich and poor countries. The richest, primarily responsible for the climate crisis, are dodging their duty to provide public, grant-based finance for developing countries to adapt and rebuild. As warming spirals toward a catastrophic 3°C, urgent action is critical. Rich countries must own their climate debt and stop pushing private finance, that prioritizes profit over people, as a solution. The Brazilian COP presidency must also step up and champion equity and justice in Belem.' Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia: 'Climate talks in Bonn have failed South Asia once again. While our communities face climate-induced floods, heatwaves, and hunger, wealthy nations dodge their obligations, offering empty words on adaptation and loss and damage finance. The refusal to put public finance on the table is a betrayal. As we pivot to COP30 in Belém, we demand not just promises, but delivery—real, predictable, and equitable finance. The era of evasion must end. The lives of millions in South Asia depend on it, however the UNFCCC process appears to have succumbed to fossil fuel lobbyists and private sector forces.' Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy lead at Oil Change International: 'Bonn saw the Global North further retreat from its responsibilities to provide public finance for climate action, instead promoting fabricated narratives on private finance filling the gap - despite evidence the market-led approach is not delivering. On top of blocking finance, rich countries failed their homework on fossil fuels with four Global North countries responsible for 70% of projected oil and gas expansion, which made calls from developed parties to center the fossil fuel phaseout in the negotiations continue to ring hollow and hypocritical. An outcome on just transition in Belém is within reach and could provide momentum for centering justice in the transition.' Ife Kilimanjaro, U.S. Climate Action Network: 'Bonn confirmed the UNFCCC feels dangerously out of touch with global crises—war, inequality, and a climate already past 1.5 degrees. The fight for public climate finance was an uphill battle; rich nations diverted responsibility, pushing risky private solutions that won't close the ambition gap. Yet, a vital glimmer of hope emerged: civil society secured demands in the Just Transition text. This shows organized people can make progress even in disconnected spaces. For USCAN, it's clear: we must keep bridging the gap between power and lived realities, demanding genuine accountability and justice.' Fernanda de Carvalho, WWF Global Climate and Energy Policy Lead:"The breakthrough we achieved in Dubai is at stake. Developed countries who should be leading the way, continue to explore for, and use fossil fuels while deforestation is on the rise. We need them to step up at the global level and commit to phasing out all fossil fuels, putting some much-needed momentum into the international climate talks. We also need strong measures to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. We look to Belém as a political course-correction moment, and we count on the Brazilian Presidency and the political will of all countries to deliver that." Avantika Goswami, Programme Manager, Climate Change, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India: 'We do not see appetite to uphold multilateralism from developed countries, and Bonn made that clear. The refusal to dive deeper into Article 9.1 and hear out concerns from developing countries about unilateral trade measures, symbolise the imbalance of power that persists in this space. While civil society is driving momentum on issues like just transition, all other spaces remain paralysed by inequity, and refusal of the Global North to support, fund and enable climate action in the rest of the world in line with its historical duty.' Ann Harrison, Climate Justice Policy Adviser, Amnesty International: 'Human rights references and protections were again sacrificed at the altar of consensus which drives down ambition. UNFCCC reform must be on the table, including greater protections for free speech and peaceful protest which were further restricted, particularly for actions protesting the genocide in Gaza and solidarity actions for imprisoned defenders. Fossil fuel producers continue to undermine progress towards the full, fast, fair and funded fossil fuel phase out and just transition we need. And let's be clear, providing adequate public, grants-based climate finance, especially for adaptation and loss and damage is also a human rights obligation for developed countries and it must be massively scaled up to contribute towards climate justice.' Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Global Policy and Campaigns: 'Bonn was bogged down by political divisions and bruised by global tensions, with results that leave much to be desired. A serious injection of energy and urgency is required as we look ahead to COP30 in Belém. Negotiators must make progress on implementing the Global Stocktake, closing the ambition gap, and delivering the finance needed to turn ambition into action. 'Civil society must hold the line on the agreement to triple renewables and phase out fossil fuels, and rich countries must course correct after Baku's shortcomings. COP30 has much to make up for, and for it to be a success, the Presidency must lead with the integrity, diplomacy and flexibility this crisis demands.' Gaïa Febvre, Réseau Action Climat France, International Policy Lead: 'As the Bonn climate talks come to a close, it is shocking to see France, once the proud 'guardian' of the Paris Agreement, actively blocking a more ambitious EU NDC. 'What's the point of hosting summits and delivering grand speeches if, behind closed doors, France stalls the very commitments needed to keep 1.5°C alive? The Paris Agreement doesn't need more ceremony, it needs leadership. It needs a France that pushes the EU to step up, not one that defends the status quo or fossil interests. The window to act is closing. France must choose: will it honor the legacy of Paris, or betray it?'
Scoop
14 hours ago
- Scoop
Climate Groups Call For Accountability And Ambition From COP30 Presidency
23 June 2025 Bonn, Germany – In a press conference held today, leading voices from the climate justice movement responded to the COP30 Presidency's plenary session at the UN climate talks in Bonn. Activists and climate groups are urging a stronger, more accountable path forward, gathering earlier in the day holding banners calling for the tripling of renewable energy, a full and fair phase-out of fossil fuels, and the inclusion of Indigenous and traditional leaders at the heart of COP30 decision-making. At the press conference, speakers from across the Global South emphasized that the world cannot afford another summit of empty promises. They called on the COP Presidency to deliver the tripling renewable energy capacity and phase out fossil fuels in the negotiated outcome, and for Indigenous and traditional people to meaningfully participate in the leaders segment and official agenda. Today's messages were clear: 1.5°C is a lifeline, not a target to be negotiated. The Global North must deliver new, additional public finance to meet its climate debt, and frontline communities must be empowered as leaders in global climate governance. Only through ambition grounded in justice can COP30 deliver the outcomes the world urgently needs. Alia Kajee, Global Campaign Project Manager, says: 'At home in South Africa, 88 people died in flooding just this month. Droughts, storms, and heatwaves are intensifying. Food and energy costs are rising while a handful of billionaires profit and prop up the industries that pollute our lands, air and waters while the vulnerable carry the burden of climate impacts and the cost of life. We ask the COP30 Presidency: Will you match our courage, or will you let history remember you as the government that wrote sophisticated letters, but failed to walk the talk?' Claudio Angelo, Head of International Policy, Observatório de Clima, says: 'Brazil is the best presidency you could get for a climate conference, given the context we have today with wars and the expansion of fossil fuels everywhere. The issue is more that there is a lot on their plate right now. They do have a plan, and they are trying to innovate in a COP format, but the issue is that simply the context is not favoring much ambition right now. But it's not game over yet. If one country can do it, at a climate conference, especially looking at the last three presidencies, Brazil can deliver – but it can't do it alone.' Cacique (chief) Ninawá Inu Huni Kui, says: 'We are here to reaffirm that we are not invited to simply occupy seats at global decision-making tables; we are holders of ancestral knowledge and guardians of the territories that guarantee life on the planet. Indigenous peoples and local communities are not spectators in the climate debate: we are protagonists and have the right and commitment to guide paths towards fair and sustainable change. This is not an option. It is a vital necessity for each and every one of us. Let's transform this global battle into a joint and equal action, so that all voices are heard and all strategies are strengthened by the Indigenous and traditional presence.' Dr Sindra Sharma, International Policy Lead, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network, says: 'I am born of and a product of the Pacific, a region that did not cause this crisis, but is paying for it every day. It's been 10 years since the Paris Agreement, and what do we have to show for it? In every country, planetary boundaries are being crossed, emissions keep rising, and fossil fuel subsidies are not falling. The problem is not a lack of science, it's a failure of political will. For us, the 1.5C limit is a red line. As we move toward COP30 we hope this is the moment we can reclaim 1.5C, as our time is running out. We'll continue to defend 1.5C and the science. But know this, our resilience is not your excuse to not act. We must maintain the required ambition.'
