Will the ICJ hold major polluters responsible for contributing to climate change?

In the final week of the hearings at the International Court of Justice by vulnerable countries demanding climate justice, a poignant testimony came from the man who directed global responses to tame the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, recalled a conversation with a boy named Falour during a visit in 2019 to the Polynesian island-nation of Tuvalu.

Falou told Ghebreyesus about the discussions he and his friends were having about their uncertain future as rising ocean levels threaten to sink Tuvalu. Some of Falou’s friends contemplated leaving the island to seek refuge in Fiji. Others expressed their willingness to stay back.

“Falou’s words touched my heart, serving as a clear and poignant reminder of the challenges faced by children in the Pacific,” Ghebreyesus said. “Children should be children. I would have loved if Falou was laughing and playing and being a child, but he was not. They worry about the survival of their island homes due to the emissions produced by distant nations.”

Ghebreyesus emphasised that for the WHO, climate change is among the most significant health challenges facing humanity. Evidence collected by the WHO about the health impacts of climate change for over 25 years shows that the transmission of diseases...

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