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A landmark climate change opinion from the International Court of Justice has strengthened the Pacific’s push for greater global accountability, with Fiji saying it provides a legal foundation for future negotiations.

One year after the ICJ delivered its historic advisory opinion on climate change, Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, Dr Sivendra Michael, says Pacific nations now have a stronger platform to demand action.

He says climate change is no longer only a matter of political promises, but a question of legal responsibility.

“The advisory opinion is the foundation the Pacific must stand on at COP31, as well as pre-COP. It should not sit alongside our negotiating priorities, because it is the legal architecture underneath all of them.”

Dr Michael says the advisory opinion provides important protection for future generations of Pacific Islanders and will be critical as countries prepare for upcoming climate negotiations.

He says the ruling must guide the region’s approach rather than simply be treated as another issue on the negotiating agenda.

Vanuatu’s High Commissioner to Fiji, Viranria Brown, says the process demonstrates that small island developing states can influence international law when they act collectively.

“The process has shown that international law is not only shaped by major powers. Countries like ours, small island developing states, can successfully influence the development of international law when they speak with clarity, consistency and unity.”

Brown says the priority now is turning the advisory opinion into meaningful action that protects communities already facing the impacts of climate change.

Pacific leaders are expected to continue using the ICJ opinion as a key advocacy tool as they prepare for future global climate negotiations, including COP31.