Vanuatu considers suing fossil fuel companies over climate change, as global carbon dioxide levels hit new record
Low-lying Vanuatu is considering suing fossil fuel companies and industrialised countries that use them for their role in creating catastrophic climate change, the foreign minister of the Pacific island nation said on Thursday.
The comments came as the UN World Meteorological Organisation warned that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had hit a new record in 2017, with no sign of slowing down.
Vanuatu, with an estimated population of 280,000 people spread across roughly 80 islands, is among more than a dozen Pacific island nations that already face rising sea levels and more regular storms that can wipe out much of their economies.
Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu said it was time that some of the billions of dollars of profits fossil fuel companies generate every year goes towards the damage they cause in countries like "desperate" Vanuatu.
"This is really about claiming for the damages," he told Reuters in an interview.
Speaking at the Climate Vulnerable Forum’s Virtual Summit earlier in the day, Mr Regenvanu announced the legal options Vanuatu was considering.
"My government is now exploring all avenues to utilize the judicial system in various jurisdictions - including under international law - to shift the costs of climate protection back on to fossil fuel companies, the financial institutions and the governments that actively and knowingly created this existential threat to my country,” he said.
About 64 percent of Vanuatu's GDP was wiped out in a single cyclone in 2015, causing economic losses of $449.4 million, he said.
Samoa, on behalf of the 18 Pacific island forum members, including Vanuatu, on Saturday called on leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to pay more attention to climate change.
Mr Regenvanu said Vanuatu was also pursuing the idea of joining hands with other nations to pursue legal action.
"We are looking for climate vulnerable countries who are willing to step up and be involved in such a case," he said.
The news came as the annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin dashed hopes for a slowdown in emissions of CO2 - the byproduct of burning fossil fuels that scientists say is the main cause of the greenhouse effect causing global warming.
The report from the WMO found CO2 levels of 405.5 parts per million in 2017, up from 403.3 ppm in 2016.
The rise was expected to be much lower in 2017, because the previous year saw "El Nino" weather conditions, which are normally followed by a big slowdown in the growth of CO2 concentrations.
The rate of increase is in line with the average growth rate over the last decade, which was the fastest rate for 55 million years, the WMO said. Carbon dioxide levels have risen 46 percent since the pre-industrial era, around 1750.
“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said.
