Latest news with #Regenvanu
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'We have to try everything': Vanuatu envoy taking climate fight to ICJ
Tired of pleading for countries to act on climate change, Vanuatu upped the ante -- it asked the world's highest court if governments were legally obligated to do something about it. The landmark case has given Ralph Regenvanu a front row seat to history. As Vanuatu's environment minister, he has taken the decades-long climate fight by Pacific nations to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, hoping to safeguard their islands' survival. Regenvanu has called the case among the most consequential "in the history of humanity". A ruling could come as early as next month. This interview, conducted by AFP on the sidelines of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, has been edited for length and clarity: Q: Why did Vanuatu go to the ICJ? A: "We thought it was necessary to take a legal approach to the issue of climate change because we feel that the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) process, which has been going for 30 years, has not done anywhere near enough. "We agreed to ramp down greenhouse gas emissions. We've seen the highest levels ever just recently. We've talked about climate finance. We haven't seen that. These pledges that were made in Paris? We've not seen them having any effect. "And so we wanted to see if we could get international law to actually start to impose some requirements." Q: Has it worked? "This request for an advisory opinion from the ICJ has been historic. It was the first request from the United Nations General Assembly for an advisory opinion that was unanimous. No country opposed requesting this. "It has also mobilised youth. There's this global climate justice movement of youth now, and we have many of them here (in Nice). It's really raised the consciousness and political savvy of youth to engage with these kinds of processes. "A lot of countries would talk about what they're doing on climate change. But when we got to the court, it became very clear that they weren't prepared to do what they were talking about. So it exposed the hypocrisy of a number of countries as well." Q: Do you think others will take the legal route? A: "We're going to have to do a far greater range of things outside these UN processes -- in courts, in each and every fora we can find, to push for real climate action. "We went to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea -- we got an advisory opinion. We're waiting for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the same question: the obligations of states to prevent greenhouse gas emissions, and what are they consequences if they don't. "Along with Fiji and Samoa, we've submitted a resolution to the Rome Statute -- the International Criminal Court -- for a new crime of ecocide to be created. That's in process. "We will continue to call for the strongest action in all fora including this one, the United Nations Ocean Conference. "Anything and everything we can -- because what we're doing is not enough." Q: Why keep going if you're constantly disappointed? A: "Going to the climate COPs is a very depressing exercise. Last year, for example, Papua New Guinea said we aren't going anymore. I could perfectly understand that. "The problem is, when we're not at the table, we're on the menu. And so we have to be there, so people see us and realise -- and hopefully have a little bit of conscience -- that there are these people in the world who are going to perish as a result of your actions." Q: Why is this ocean summit important? "The ocean has been feeding us. It's been our spiritual home. It's been our highway. It has been the basis of our cultural heritage, our identity. We've been surviving off the ocean for as long as we've existed, which is thousands of years. "And we see the change, and the change is impacting us. We know that if we don't address climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, and if we don't take serious steps to reverse global warming, but also keep the biodiversity that has always been sustaining us, it threatens our very existence." np/klm/giv
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
'We have to try everything': Vanuatu envoy taking climate fight to ICJ
The landmark case has given Ralph Regenvanu a front row seat to history. As Vanuatu's environment minister, he has taken the decades-long climate fight by Pacific nations to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, hoping to safeguard their islands' survival. Regenvanu has called the case among the most consequential "in the history of humanity". A ruling could come as early as next month. This interview, conducted by AFP on the sidelines of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, has been edited for length and clarity: Q: Why did Vanuatu go to the ICJ? A: "We thought it was necessary to take a legal approach to the issue of climate change because we feel that the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) process, which has been going for 30 years, has not done anywhere near enough. "We agreed to ramp down greenhouse gas emissions. We've seen the highest levels ever just recently. We've talked about climate finance. We haven't seen that. These pledges that were made in Paris? We've not seen them having any effect. "And so we wanted to see if we could get international law to actually start to impose some requirements." Q: Has it worked? "This request for an advisory opinion from the ICJ has been historic. It was the first request from the United Nations General Assembly for an advisory opinion that was unanimous. No country opposed requesting this. "It has also mobilised youth. There's this global climate justice movement of youth now, and we have many of them here (in Nice). It's really raised the consciousness and political savvy of youth to engage with these kinds of processes. "A lot of countries would talk about what they're doing on climate change. But when we got to the court, it became very clear that they weren't prepared to do what they were talking about. So it exposed the hypocrisy of a number of countries as well." Q: Do you think others will take the legal route? A: "We're going to have to do a far greater range of things outside these UN processes -- in courts, in each and every fora we can find, to push for real climate action. "We went to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea -- we got an advisory opinion. We're waiting for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the same question: the obligations of states to prevent greenhouse gas emissions, and what are they consequences if they don't. "Along with Fiji and Samoa, we've submitted a resolution to the Rome Statute -- the International Criminal Court -- for a new crime of ecocide to be created. That's in process. "We will continue to call for the strongest action in all fora including this one, the United Nations Ocean Conference. "Anything and everything we can -- because what we're doing is not enough." Q: Why keep going if you're constantly disappointed? A: "Going to the climate COPs is a very depressing exercise. Last year, for example, Papua New Guinea said we aren't going anymore. I could perfectly understand that. "The problem is, when we're not at the table, we're on the menu. And so we have to be there, so people see us and realise -- and hopefully have a little bit of conscience -- that there are these people in the world who are going to perish as a result of your actions." Q: Why is this ocean summit important? "The ocean has been feeding us. It's been our spiritual home. It's been our highway. It has been the basis of our cultural heritage, our identity. We've been surviving off the ocean for as long as we've existed, which is thousands of years. "And we see the change, and the change is impacting us. We know that if we don't address climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, and if we don't take serious steps to reverse global warming, but also keep the biodiversity that has always been sustaining us, it threatens our very existence."
The Advertiser
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Foreign minister to blitz key Pacific island states
Foreign Minister Penny Wong will blitz three key Pacific island nations in her first standalone trip after Labor's landslide re-election. The foreign minister will visit Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji across three days in the region, visiting new prime ministers in Port Vila and Nuku'alofa, along with the region's centre of diplomacy. Senator Wong will be joined by Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite in what will be his first official overseas trip. Near the top of Senator Wong's agenda will be COP31, the UN climate change conference it is hoping to co-host with the region next year. Turkey is also contending for hosting rights of the 2026 talks. While Australia would hold the summit, with Adelaide proposed as the host city, Vanuatu climate minister Ralph Regenvanu reminded his counterparts in Canberra the Pacific had high expectations of climate progress. "We would expect equal say in what happens at the COP and what the outcomes will be," he said. "We expect the Albanese government to stop approving new oil and gas projects. "We expect and we want to see an outcome of COP31 being financing of a just transition across the Pacific so that we become the first region in the world to become completely renewable in our identification." Mr Regenvanu said his views were felt across the Pacific, citing Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr's statements while in Sydney last month as evidence. In a keynote address to the Lowy Institute, Mr Whipps Jr lashed Australia's fossil fuel exports, which he said was responsible for 4.5 per cent of global emissions. He also called for Australia to phase out coal and gas production and halt the approval of new fossil fuel projects "as the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis". The whole region would be making a similar request "so that we can advance our stated indices towards the fossil fuel-free Pacific by 2050", Mr Regenvanu said. Alongside climate talks, Senator Wong is likely to revisit a bilateral security agreement agreed between Australia and Vanuatu that remains unratified in Port Vila. Australia agreed to that deal during a barnstorming start to Senator Wong's tenure, when the South Australian visited all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum members within 12 months of becoming foreign minister in 2022. Since that pact, Vanuatu has changed prime minister twice, with Jotham Napat's government disinclined to ratify the agreement until it is modified. Senator Wong will meet with Mr Napat and his senior ministers while in Port Vila. "We will reaffirm Australia's commitment to elevate our bilateral relationship through the development of the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu," Senator Wong said in a pre-departure statement. She will also meet with Tonga's prime minister 'Aisake Eke, who took the office in January, and also assumed position of the Pacific Islands Forum chair, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. In Suva, she will hold talks with Sitiveni Rabuka, the veteran Fijian prime minister. Foreign Minister Penny Wong will blitz three key Pacific island nations in her first standalone trip after Labor's landslide re-election. The foreign minister will visit Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji across three days in the region, visiting new prime ministers in Port Vila and Nuku'alofa, along with the region's centre of diplomacy. Senator Wong will be joined by Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite in what will be his first official overseas trip. Near the top of Senator Wong's agenda will be COP31, the UN climate change conference it is hoping to co-host with the region next year. Turkey is also contending for hosting rights of the 2026 talks. While Australia would hold the summit, with Adelaide proposed as the host city, Vanuatu climate minister Ralph Regenvanu reminded his counterparts in Canberra the Pacific had high expectations of climate progress. "We would expect equal say in what happens at the COP and what the outcomes will be," he said. "We expect the Albanese government to stop approving new oil and gas projects. "We expect and we want to see an outcome of COP31 being financing of a just transition across the Pacific so that we become the first region in the world to become completely renewable in our identification." Mr Regenvanu said his views were felt across the Pacific, citing Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr's statements while in Sydney last month as evidence. In a keynote address to the Lowy Institute, Mr Whipps Jr lashed Australia's fossil fuel exports, which he said was responsible for 4.5 per cent of global emissions. He also called for Australia to phase out coal and gas production and halt the approval of new fossil fuel projects "as the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis". The whole region would be making a similar request "so that we can advance our stated indices towards the fossil fuel-free Pacific by 2050", Mr Regenvanu said. Alongside climate talks, Senator Wong is likely to revisit a bilateral security agreement agreed between Australia and Vanuatu that remains unratified in Port Vila. Australia agreed to that deal during a barnstorming start to Senator Wong's tenure, when the South Australian visited all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum members within 12 months of becoming foreign minister in 2022. Since that pact, Vanuatu has changed prime minister twice, with Jotham Napat's government disinclined to ratify the agreement until it is modified. Senator Wong will meet with Mr Napat and his senior ministers while in Port Vila. "We will reaffirm Australia's commitment to elevate our bilateral relationship through the development of the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu," Senator Wong said in a pre-departure statement. She will also meet with Tonga's prime minister 'Aisake Eke, who took the office in January, and also assumed position of the Pacific Islands Forum chair, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. In Suva, she will hold talks with Sitiveni Rabuka, the veteran Fijian prime minister. Foreign Minister Penny Wong will blitz three key Pacific island nations in her first standalone trip after Labor's landslide re-election. The foreign minister will visit Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji across three days in the region, visiting new prime ministers in Port Vila and Nuku'alofa, along with the region's centre of diplomacy. Senator Wong will be joined by Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite in what will be his first official overseas trip. Near the top of Senator Wong's agenda will be COP31, the UN climate change conference it is hoping to co-host with the region next year. Turkey is also contending for hosting rights of the 2026 talks. While Australia would hold the summit, with Adelaide proposed as the host city, Vanuatu climate minister Ralph Regenvanu reminded his counterparts in Canberra the Pacific had high expectations of climate progress. "We would expect equal say in what happens at the COP and what the outcomes will be," he said. "We expect the Albanese government to stop approving new oil and gas projects. "We expect and we want to see an outcome of COP31 being financing of a just transition across the Pacific so that we become the first region in the world to become completely renewable in our identification." Mr Regenvanu said his views were felt across the Pacific, citing Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr's statements while in Sydney last month as evidence. In a keynote address to the Lowy Institute, Mr Whipps Jr lashed Australia's fossil fuel exports, which he said was responsible for 4.5 per cent of global emissions. He also called for Australia to phase out coal and gas production and halt the approval of new fossil fuel projects "as the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis". The whole region would be making a similar request "so that we can advance our stated indices towards the fossil fuel-free Pacific by 2050", Mr Regenvanu said. Alongside climate talks, Senator Wong is likely to revisit a bilateral security agreement agreed between Australia and Vanuatu that remains unratified in Port Vila. Australia agreed to that deal during a barnstorming start to Senator Wong's tenure, when the South Australian visited all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum members within 12 months of becoming foreign minister in 2022. Since that pact, Vanuatu has changed prime minister twice, with Jotham Napat's government disinclined to ratify the agreement until it is modified. Senator Wong will meet with Mr Napat and his senior ministers while in Port Vila. "We will reaffirm Australia's commitment to elevate our bilateral relationship through the development of the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu," Senator Wong said in a pre-departure statement. She will also meet with Tonga's prime minister 'Aisake Eke, who took the office in January, and also assumed position of the Pacific Islands Forum chair, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. In Suva, she will hold talks with Sitiveni Rabuka, the veteran Fijian prime minister. Foreign Minister Penny Wong will blitz three key Pacific island nations in her first standalone trip after Labor's landslide re-election. The foreign minister will visit Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji across three days in the region, visiting new prime ministers in Port Vila and Nuku'alofa, along with the region's centre of diplomacy. Senator Wong will be joined by Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite in what will be his first official overseas trip. Near the top of Senator Wong's agenda will be COP31, the UN climate change conference it is hoping to co-host with the region next year. Turkey is also contending for hosting rights of the 2026 talks. While Australia would hold the summit, with Adelaide proposed as the host city, Vanuatu climate minister Ralph Regenvanu reminded his counterparts in Canberra the Pacific had high expectations of climate progress. "We would expect equal say in what happens at the COP and what the outcomes will be," he said. "We expect the Albanese government to stop approving new oil and gas projects. "We expect and we want to see an outcome of COP31 being financing of a just transition across the Pacific so that we become the first region in the world to become completely renewable in our identification." Mr Regenvanu said his views were felt across the Pacific, citing Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr's statements while in Sydney last month as evidence. In a keynote address to the Lowy Institute, Mr Whipps Jr lashed Australia's fossil fuel exports, which he said was responsible for 4.5 per cent of global emissions. He also called for Australia to phase out coal and gas production and halt the approval of new fossil fuel projects "as the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis". The whole region would be making a similar request "so that we can advance our stated indices towards the fossil fuel-free Pacific by 2050", Mr Regenvanu said. Alongside climate talks, Senator Wong is likely to revisit a bilateral security agreement agreed between Australia and Vanuatu that remains unratified in Port Vila. Australia agreed to that deal during a barnstorming start to Senator Wong's tenure, when the South Australian visited all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum members within 12 months of becoming foreign minister in 2022. Since that pact, Vanuatu has changed prime minister twice, with Jotham Napat's government disinclined to ratify the agreement until it is modified. Senator Wong will meet with Mr Napat and his senior ministers while in Port Vila. "We will reaffirm Australia's commitment to elevate our bilateral relationship through the development of the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu," Senator Wong said in a pre-departure statement. She will also meet with Tonga's prime minister 'Aisake Eke, who took the office in January, and also assumed position of the Pacific Islands Forum chair, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. In Suva, she will hold talks with Sitiveni Rabuka, the veteran Fijian prime minister.
Perth Now
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Foreign minister to blitz key Pacific island states
Foreign Minister Penny Wong will blitz three key Pacific island nations in her first standalone trip after Labor's landslide re-election. The foreign minister will visit Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji across three days in the region, visiting new prime ministers in Port Vila and Nuku'alofa, along with the region's centre of diplomacy. Senator Wong will be joined by Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite in what will be his first official overseas trip. Near the top of Senator Wong's agenda will be COP31, the UN climate change conference it is hoping to co-host with the region next year. Turkey is also contending for hosting rights of the 2026 talks. While Australia would hold the summit, with Adelaide proposed as the host city, Vanuatu climate minister Ralph Regenvanu reminded his counterparts in Canberra the Pacific had high expectations of climate progress. "We would expect equal say in what happens at the COP and what the outcomes will be," he said. "We expect the Albanese government to stop approving new oil and gas projects. "We expect and we want to see an outcome of COP31 being financing of a just transition across the Pacific so that we become the first region in the world to become completely renewable in our identification." Mr Regenvanu said his views were felt across the Pacific, citing Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr's statements while in Sydney last month as evidence. In a keynote address to the Lowy Institute, Mr Whipps Jr lashed Australia's fossil fuel exports, which he said was responsible for 4.5 per cent of global emissions. He also called for Australia to phase out coal and gas production and halt the approval of new fossil fuel projects "as the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis". The whole region would be making a similar request "so that we can advance our stated indices towards the fossil fuel-free Pacific by 2050", Mr Regenvanu said. Alongside climate talks, Senator Wong is likely to revisit a bilateral security agreement agreed between Australia and Vanuatu that remains unratified in Port Vila. Australia agreed to that deal during a barnstorming start to Senator Wong's tenure, when the South Australian visited all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum members within 12 months of becoming foreign minister in 2022. Since that pact, Vanuatu has changed prime minister twice, with Jotham Napat's government disinclined to ratify the agreement until it is modified. Senator Wong will meet with Mr Napat and his senior ministers while in Port Vila. "We will reaffirm Australia's commitment to elevate our bilateral relationship through the development of the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu," Senator Wong said in a pre-departure statement. She will also meet with Tonga's prime minister 'Aisake Eke, who took the office in January, and also assumed position of the Pacific Islands Forum chair, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. In Suva, she will hold talks with Sitiveni Rabuka, the veteran Fijian prime minister.
West Australian
19-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Foreign minister to blitz key Pacific island states
Foreign Minister Penny Wong will blitz three key Pacific island nations in her first standalone trip after Labor's landslide re-election. The foreign minister will visit Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji across three days in the region, visiting new prime ministers in Port Vila and Nuku'alofa, along with the region's centre of diplomacy. Senator Wong will be joined by Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite in what will be his first official overseas trip. Near the top of Senator Wong's agenda will be COP31, the UN climate change conference it is hoping to co-host with the region next year. Turkey is also contending for hosting rights of the 2026 talks. While Australia would hold the summit, with Adelaide proposed as the host city, Vanuatu climate minister Ralph Regenvanu reminded his counterparts in Canberra the Pacific had high expectations of climate progress. "We would expect equal say in what happens at the COP and what the outcomes will be," he said. "We expect the Albanese government to stop approving new oil and gas projects. "We expect and we want to see an outcome of COP31 being financing of a just transition across the Pacific so that we become the first region in the world to become completely renewable in our identification." Mr Regenvanu said his views were felt across the Pacific, citing Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr's statements while in Sydney last month as evidence. In a keynote address to the Lowy Institute, Mr Whipps Jr lashed Australia's fossil fuel exports, which he said was responsible for 4.5 per cent of global emissions. He also called for Australia to phase out coal and gas production and halt the approval of new fossil fuel projects "as the Pacific region faces the dire consequences of the climate crisis". The whole region would be making a similar request "so that we can advance our stated indices towards the fossil fuel-free Pacific by 2050", Mr Regenvanu said. Alongside climate talks, Senator Wong is likely to revisit a bilateral security agreement agreed between Australia and Vanuatu that remains unratified in Port Vila. Australia agreed to that deal during a barnstorming start to Senator Wong's tenure, when the South Australian visited all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum members within 12 months of becoming foreign minister in 2022. Since that pact, Vanuatu has changed prime minister twice, with Jotham Napat's government disinclined to ratify the agreement until it is modified. Senator Wong will meet with Mr Napat and his senior ministers while in Port Vila. "We will reaffirm Australia's commitment to elevate our bilateral relationship through the development of the Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu," Senator Wong said in a pre-departure statement. She will also meet with Tonga's prime minister 'Aisake Eke, who took the office in January, and also assumed position of the Pacific Islands Forum chair, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala. In Suva, she will hold talks with Sitiveni Rabuka, the veteran Fijian prime minister.
