UN climate change case ‘particularly relevant’ following Trump election win: lawyer

An international legal judgment on governments’ obligations to prevent human-driven climate change has become more crucial after Donald Trump’s election victory raised the prospect of the U.S. again withdrawing from the landmark Paris agreement, a lawyer in the case said.

The U.N.’s International Court of Justice, or ICJ, is set to begin hearings on Dec. 2 that will culminate in it issuing an opinion on states’ responsibilities and the legal consequences for countries that fail to act. More than 130 nations – but not top polluters China and the U.S. – supported a push by Pacific island nation of written statements ever filed in an advisory proceeding before the court.

The court also received dozens of written responses to the initial submissions. It extended the deadline for written submissions several times.

China and the U.S. both made written submissions, as have organizations such as OPEC and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Regenvanu said in a statement Hurricane Milton last month showed the U.S., like Pacific island nations, increasingly faces extreme weather.

“This is a shared problem that will not solve itself without international cooperation, and we will continue to make that case to the incoming president of one of the world’s largest polluters,” he said.

Edited by Mike Firn.