Published on 02/12/2024
A major case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) may pave the way for more climate change litigation and help for poorer and vulnerable states.
Despite the nearly 13,000 kilometres between the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao and France’s Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, the two have been struck by a common and growing crisis.
From rising sea levels and temperatures to more frequent extreme weather events like droughts and hurricanes, small islands like these bear the brunt of worsening climate change.
While there is increasing international attention and funding for developing nations and climate-vulnerable territories — from the freshly-inked $300 billion (€284bn) COP29 deal to a landmark case this week at the UN’s top court — activists from places like Curaçao and Mayotte say that their plight is being widely overlooked and underfunded.
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This is because these territories remain under some form of colonial control or influence, which limits their autonomy and representation when it comes to tackling climate change.
Although the ties to their colonisers differ — Curaçao is technically an autonomous part of the Netherlands while Mayotte is an overseas department of France — environmental advocates from both territories shared similar frustrations in interviews with Euronews.
Curaçao and Mayotte are ineligible for international climate funding for developing nations and must rely on central governments for whom they are far from a political priority, all while lacking their own voices on the global stage, the activists said.
The Dutch government has thrown most of the responsibility for climate adaptation into the laps of the territories themselves, and are extremely flaky with regards to funding and implementation.
Gilberto Morishaw, Climate activist from Curaçao
They hope that the public hearings starting on Monday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — which will examine “the obligations of states in respect of climate change” — and the court’s eventual advisory opinion will lead to far greater recognition, support and funding for small island nations and climate-vulnerable territories.
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Source: EuroNews