Castries, January 16, 2025. In its first-ever feat addressing the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Saint Lucia sought to convince a fifteen-judge panel to affirm the legal obligation of developed nations to reduce their high carbon emissions and support vulnerable nations like Saint Lucia with technical and financial resources for climate mitigation and adaptation. The three-member legal team made their oral submission on December 10, as part of a two-week public hearing involving ten Caribbean countries and over one hundred developed and developing United Nations Member States. This momentous and groundbreaking initiative was spearheaded by Pacific Small Island Developing State (SIDS), Vanuatu.
Saint Lucia presented immediately after its former colonial power, the United Kingdom (UK). The UK maintained that global climate change treaties like the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC should be the only basis for determining legal obligation. With the opening salvo, Dr. Jan Yves Remy set Saint Lucia’s tone by effectively and passionately dismantling this argument: “… Major emitters that have contributed and continue to contribute most to greenhouse gas emissions ignore the science, seek to evade their responsibilities and reduce the scope of their international obligations. They tout their current domestic efforts at mitigation but in these proceedings, they deny the significant historic, cumulative emissions—the very conduct that this court must address.”
Kate Wilson followed by supporting the view that high carbon emitters hide behind the purported voluntary nature of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. She further contended that regulation of conduct resulting in climate change in customary international law predates climate treaties. She argued that these very treaties even recognize environmental and human rights law, stating: “The UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement confirm that other rules including customary international law were not disengaged by their adoption. For instance, the preamble of the UNFCCC refers to the declaration of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment which codified the principle of prevention and then reproduces the very content of this principle as was later recognized by this very court…The preamble of the Paris Agreement also expressly reserves the application of human rights.”
Rochelle John-Charles concluded Saint Lucia’s presentation by requesting formal acknowledgment of wrongdoing by high carbon-emitting States. She emphasized the need to restore dignity to impacted States, demonstrate genuine accountability, and lay the groundwork for more equitable climate cooperation. John-Charles proposed consequences for breaches of obligations, including reparations. She explained that this should involve restitution through efforts to restore damaged ecosystems, financial and technical assistance to support transformational adaptation and mitigation measures in SIDS, and compensation: “Where restitution is not adequate or possible, compensation is required to address the material damage caused by the breach. Compensation should cover any financially assessable damage including loss of income, agricultural productivity, infrastructure damage, as well as the cost of human mobility including displacement and migration.”
Saint Lucia’s inaugural participation at The Hague underscores the Government of Saint Lucia’s unwavering commitment to advocating for climate justice and amplifying the voices of present and future generations of Saint Lucians. It seeks reparatory justice for sustained damage to the climate system caused by major emitters. The Government of Saint Lucia stood not only for its citizens but also for citizens of all small island developing states whose very existence is threatened by the inaction of defaulting states.
With the public hearings being the final phase of this Climate Change proceeding, hope is high that the Court returns with an Advisory Opinion that holds major emitters accountable for their legal obligations, strengthens the legal framework for climate action, and creates a ripple effect for the entire corpus of international law jurisprudence. Such an outcome would be a fortuitous follow-up to the Advisory Opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in May 2024, which confirmed States’ legal obligations to protect oceans and marine biodiversity from human-induced climate change. This earlier Opinion was requested by COSIS, the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, of which Saint Lucia is a member.
For their sterling support to Saint Lucia’s legal team at The Hague, immense gratitude is expressed to the Saint Lucia Diplomatic Mission in Brussels and Grenadian Ambassadors Desmond Simon and Raphael Joseph. Saint Lucia’s Honourable Attorney General, Leslie Vincent Mondesir, as legal advisor for the Government, and the Honourable Minister for the Department of Sustainable Development, Shawn Edward, will continue collaborating to advocate for robust support from major carbon-emitting States—not out of charity, but out of justice.
