(United Nations) The small island state of Vanuatu, threatened by rising sea levels, launched the battle at the UN on Friday for the creation of a “fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty”, aimed at eventually ridding the planet of major contributors to global warming.
Posted at 12:51 p.m.
“We call for the development of a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to phase out coal, oil and gas in line with 1.5°C”, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement , Pacific Island President Nikenike Vurobaravu told the UN General Assembly.
“Every day, we live the debilitating consequences of the climate crisis,” he said from the podium, stressing that “no one is immune to the extreme weather events that ravage our islands, our cities, our States ” .
“There is no time left at all, we must act now”.
“Our youth are terrified of the future and the world we are going to leave them,” the president insisted, as governments restarted coal-fired power plants in response to the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.
The “fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty” is an initiative launched by climate defenders inspired by the text of the same name on nuclear weapons, with the aim of getting out of fossil fuels by replacing them with “clean and low energy”. carbon”.
“Climate change, like nuclear weapons, is a major threat”, underline its promoters who described Friday as “historic” the support of Vanuatu, “the first nation-state” to join them.
The campaign claims to have already received the support of more than 65 cities and regions around the world, as well as that of the Vatican city-state.
Last week, the World Health Organization and some 200 other health organizations also called on governments to put in place such a treaty, highlighting “the serious and escalating threat to human health”.
No “miracle cure”
To limit warming to +1.5°C, without carbon capture (an immature large-scale technology), the use of coal should be completely stopped and those of oil and gas reduced by 60% and 70%, respectively , by 2050 compared to 2019 levels, according to the latest benchmark report from UN climate experts (IPCC) published in April.
The planet has already gained around 1.2°C on average and is heading towards a warming of +2.8°C by 2100 even if the individual commitments made by States under the Paris Agreement are respected .
“If we continue to burn fossil fuels, we will see Pacific islands disappear, islands like my homeland, Tonga,” climate activist Kalo Afeaki said in a statement on Friday, stressing his “fear” of climate change. ‘coming.
“Once again, Vanuatu is showing the world Pacific climate leadership,” said New Zealand activist Mary Gafaomalietoa Sapati Moeono-Kolio.
Vanuatu is indeed a pioneer in the legal battles against global warming and the destruction of natural resources.
He is thus leading a campaign to modify the statute of the International Criminal Court, hoping that the crime of ecocide – large-scale destruction of ecosystems – will join genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the acts that the court can to chase.
Along with other Pacific states, Vanuatu is also advocating for the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which settles disputes between states, to take up the climate issue.
“In this Assembly, with the support of UN Member States, we will ask the ICJ for an advisory opinion on its existing obligations under international law to protect the rights of present and future generations from the harmful effects of warming,” President Nikenike Vurobaravu said on Friday, as a resolution is being prepared.
“Bringing climate to the ICJ through the General Assembly is not a magic bullet for increasing climate action,” he noted. “But the only tool to get us closer to the goal of a livable planet for humanity.”