Vanuatu declares climate emergency – ‘we are in danger now’ – PM says
- ‘The Earth is already too hot and unsafe. We are in danger now, not just in the future,’ Prime Minister Bob Loughman said; US$1.2 billion needed to cushion impact
- It follows similar declarations by dozens of other countries, including South Pacific neighbour Fiji
The parliament of South Pacific Island Vanuatu has declared a climate emergency, with the low-lying nation’s prime minister flagging a US$1.2 billion cost to cushion climate change’s impacts on his country.
Prime Minister Bob Loughman said rising sea levels and severe weather were already disproportionately affecting the Pacific – highlighting two devastating tropical cyclones and a hard-hitting drought in the last decade.
“The Earth is already too hot and unsafe,” Loughman said. “We are in danger now, not just in the future.”
The parliament unanimously supported the motion, and it follows similar declarations by dozens of other countries, including Britain, Canada and South Pacific neighbour Fiji.
“Vanuatu’s responsibility is to push responsible nations to match action to the size and urgency of the crisis,” the leader said. “The use of the term emergency is a way of signalling the need to go beyond reform as usual.”
The declaration was part of a “climate diplomacy push” ahead of a UN vote on his government’s application to have the International Court of Justice move to protect vulnerable nations from climate change.