Five years ago, students at Fiji’s University of the South Pacific engaged in a “learn-by-doing” exercise in an international environmental law course. They were challenged with conjuring the most progressive environmental policies they could imagine. A core group of students gradually mobilized, led by a law student named Solomon Yeo, to create a legal precedent for countries of all sizes to understand and act on their obligation to tackle a universal challenge: climate change.
The initiative quickly became a global movement which, led by young people from the Pacific Island state, aims to clarify the legal obligations of the world’s worst emitters toward states most affected by the climate crisis.
Now, the movement heads into oral hearings from Dec. 2 to 13 before the International Court of Justice, based on a bill that escalated all the way to the United Nations General Assembly. There, a draft resolution collected 120 co-sponsors, as well as various celebrity supporters, to request an advisory opinion from the court as to whether countries will face tangible consequences in accordance with their climate “transgressions.” The resolution was adopted in March 2023.
Vanuatu ranks as one of the most immediately exposed countries in the world to the effects of global warming, with inhabitants’ lives and homes facing existential threats from increasingly frequent and intensifying tropical cyclones, droughts and floods from rising sea levels — not to mention earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
Negotiators in the recently ended UN-led climate change conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, agreed to increase the crucial $100 billion loss and damage fund for developing nations to a mere $300 billion, despite civil society and numerous countries demanding a sum in the trillions. The organization of least-developed countries called the COP29 agreement “a betrayal.”
“It’s the biggest ever case for the court,” Odo Tevi, Vanuatu’s ambassador to the UN, said in an interview with PassBlue from his country’s mission in Manhattan. Over his 11 years as a UN envoy, the former banker and international consultant to the World Bank has chaired the special committee on the UN Charter and Strengthening the Organization and the UN Asia-Pacific Group. He engaged in that body on the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.
On Nov. 14, PassBlue sat down with Tevi, 51, to discuss the students’ road to the ICJ, UN climate action and what the second Trump election in the United States could mean to Vanuatu and other Pacific Island nations. Stating the obvious, Tevi said Vanuatu as a small state has no army, no nuclear weapons and little influence among big powers. But it has a strategy. “So, we will rely on friendship, on partnership, we will rely on international law,” he said.
The conversation took place before the COP29 ended on Nov. 24. — ARTHUR BASSAS
The interview is part of PassBlue’s small state series. It has been edited and condensed for clarity, length and flow.
PassBlue: The oral hearings at The Hague-based International Court of Justice, or ICJ, are scheduled to begin on Dec. 2. Who’s going to make them for Vanuatu and what’s the process? What do you plan to say and what’s your legal approach?
Tevi: Our attorney general, Arnold Kiel Loughman, is dealing with it, and I think some of the youth will participate and maybe some of our government leaders will, too. I’m not going to be part of the proceedings, with my role basically ending when the resolution was passed here in the General Assembly. So, Vanuatu will be the first country to hold the oral hearings. And hopefully we lay the ground foundation for the legal arguments, to set up the framework. We are trying our best, but we are also coordinating with like-minded states in The Hague as well as globally, so that we can have coordinated legal strategy. Going to The Hague, of course some countries will try to counter that. They will have their own arguments. But for small and vulnerable states, we have a coordination mechanism; we’ve been doing a lot of work with other small states, as well as with other developing countries in Africa — trying to see if we can offer different perspectives at the court. Countries that are responsible for the greenhouse gases will offer their own arguments, and we will see how it goes. But some of these countries are development partners as well. So, most of the high emitting countries will offer their opposition or may agree to some things, but it’s natural that they will do that.
PassBlue: As you say in your ICJ advisory opinion, there’s a shift in climate action toward climate litigation to better push for immediate action. Does that approach provide enough incentive for the biggest offenders to act now, instead of telling themselves that they are just going to keep doing this and then pay for it later?
Tevi: It depends, but whether Vanuatu pushes climate litigation or not it will still come. But it happens that Vanuatu took it and was successful at the GA [General Assembly] and now it goes to The Hague. Even governments or civil society or the youth will use that opinion. It will set a precedent, because it will clarify a lot of issues. But Vanuatu also supports the multilateral process, which is the COP [Conference of the Parties] process, because we engage in international cooperation, negotiation, trying to find a way. But again, it’s a very, very slow process, but it is a very important process that we should not ignore. So, we are hoping that the ICJ opinion can also provide some tools for negotiators in climate negotiation. But also it can help with other processes in the future, and that’s something I believe that I think some states — especially the emitters — know will come.
Currently, we see the diplomatic process, the COP that is taking place now in Baku, and then the loss and damage [fund]. So, the loss and damage was the first — when Vanuatu was chair of the Alliance of Civilizations, so they came up with the concept, but it was still new and not accepted. But now, it’s something that we’ve agreed to. So, I think the ICJ, or going through the legal route, will also facilitate some avenues that we might not foresee or might find difficult. Once the opinion is delivered, the next step will be the civil society. So, even states will be using it, and even though they say that advisory opinions are not legally binding, it clarifies international law.
PassBlue: We’ve seen how countries ignore or even undermine ICJ rulings, such as the one this year finding Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories as illegal. How do you hope that bringing the Vanuatu case to the ICJ will yield what’s needed for such important climate change action?
Tevi: What you’re saying is true. We don’t have a world government, so they cannot really implement international law. And I think when it comes to international law, it is very difficult to implement a situation where countries are very powerful. So, that’s one of the challenges. What gives me hope is that all other avenues were exhausted, and we can use the tool to remind the world leaders that this is what the court gave out, and we can use that. You can clarify the law, but the other thing is, it can be used by civil society as well in national and regional courts. Another hope is that it may accelerate certain actions on climate change. For example, now we’re talking about loss and damage and other mechanisms. So, that might increase that directly or indirectly. But also what gives me hope is that it’s the biggest-ever case for the court.
PassBlue: Students led the Vanuatu movement. How have you seen other young people step up to defend the planet?
Tevi: The youth should never be underestimated. We will pass the baton to them. The Pact of the Future talks about the importance of youth now and the next generation. It’s important to leave a world where it’s sustainable and it can continue to sustain their life. We don’t want the children to adopt a world where it is full of catastrophes, full of wars. We want a world where we make peace with nature, but also make peace with each other — that is the ideal scenario. We are currently in a world which we are facing with multiple challenges. Temperatures continue to increase. The severity of natural disasters are increasing not only in small states but also in developed states, as we can see from flooding, hurricanes, fires.
The youth play an important role, but they also carry a lot of moral weight behind them. When you look at them, they are genuine. They are a voice of reason, and they are concerned. They’re concerned about their future. That’s something that we should not ignore, and especially the leaders of today should not ignore. And I think that it’s not something fake or a scam but that it’s something that is affecting us every day.
PassBlue: Donald Trump was elected on Nov. 5 to another US presidential term, and you already worked with his first administration. Come Jan. 20, when he takes office, how do you see his presidency changing your goals for not only the ICJ initiative but also the relationship with Pacific Island nations and climate action?
Tevi: The last time, the Trump presidency withdrew from the Paris Agreement. I’m not sure whether they will do the same now, but, of course, some of the policies will be different from the Biden administration. As to the Pacific states, irrespective of the US presidential outcome, we will always try to work with the US. I think it’s very important to have conversations on important issues — not only on climate change. We might not see eye to eye on certain issues, but at least we have a platform where we can talk to each other. I think that’s very important, because when you talk about finance, you talk about the World Bank, you know we need the US, as well as the European partners, other partners, even the BRICs. As a small state, we are always faced with challenges — climate change, capacity, our economy is small — and we rely on the international system. We don’t have a huge economy to influence the world. We don’t have a huge army. We don’t have nuclear weapons. So, we will rely on friendship, on partnership, we will rely on international law. So the ICJ, the ICC, these are all very important.
If the US withdraws from the Paris Agreement, I think it will [affect] climate action. The US submits a contribution to financing, mitigation, adaptation, so that will be affected. You will need another player to step up, so that will be another challenge. The US is influential in the world. It carries a lot of weight. So, without the US, we will be afraid. But I think what’s important is to try to talk to them. This is a smart country, so we will work with the US, irrespective of any changes in policy.
PassBlue: I’m told there’s a main drink of Vanuatu, called kava. I hear it’s quite bitter.
Tevi: It’s a local product from a local plant. It’s exported to the US, Australia and other countries. It’s becoming very popular, but it’s still a niche product. In the Pacific, it’s a cultural drink. The effect is the opposite of alcohol. Alcohol makes you want to talk, you know, but Kava calms you down. They’re exploring it for medical products as well now, for sleeping. It’s been used for hundreds of years. It’s a huge product, so it’s a big export for Vanuatu, as well as Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, to a certain degree, but it’s mostly a cultural drink, but in some countries, mostly for traditional chiefs, and in most ceremonies, we use kava as a respectable drink. It’s not commercialized, so it’s used differently.
We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on the ICJ advisory opinion regarding climate change?
Related Posts
Arthur Bassas is a researcher and writer who graduated from St. Andrews in Scotland, majoring in international relations and terrorism. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and speaks English and French.
![[Re]Group - A Playbook for Turbulent Times -Subscribe Now](https://passblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/regroup-v2_unf2026_square_600.500@2x.webp)
Arthur, thank you so much for this great article on this important subject matter. Indeed, the whole world has a duty to support our young people everywhere in building a better future for themselves under very livable conditions!