PM of St Vincent and the Grenadines says ruling will strengthen the Caribbean’s negotiating power when it comes to climate change reparations
Leaders in the Caribbean have hailed the outcome of the international court of justice (ICJ) climate change case as a “historic legal victory” for small island states everywhere.
Several countries in the region had provided evidence to the ICJ case, which ended this week with a landmark advisory opinion that could see states ordered to pay reparations if they fail to tackle fossil fuels and prevent harm to the climate system.
Describing the opinion as a “historic legal victory for small states” that are bearing the worst impacts of climate change, the prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Ralph Gonsalves, told the Guardian it would strengthen the Caribbean’s negotiating power.
“What is very interesting is that it says that the obligations laid out in the important [climate change] treaties are not simply procedural,” he said. “They create substantive legal obligations.”
