{"id":18266,"date":"2026-05-22T10:53:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T10:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/uns-climate-crisis-vote-shows-political-momentum-is-growing-say-experts-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T10:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T10:53:24","slug":"uns-climate-crisis-vote-shows-political-momentum-is-growing-say-experts-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/uns-climate-crisis-vote-shows-political-momentum-is-growing-say-experts-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"UN\u2019s climate crisis vote shows political momentum is growing, say experts – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as \u2018new chapter\u2019 that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation efforts
When the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour<\/a> of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu\u2019s prime minister hailed the result as the start of \u201ca new chapter\u201d in climate action.
\u201cThe task before all of us now is to translate legal clarity into meaningful action, stronger cooperation, and greater protection for present and future generations,\u201d said Jotham Napat.
The recognition by states that they have a legal responsibility to address climate breakdown by cutting their greenhouse gas emissions, including tackling fossil fuels, could prove a boost for climate diplomacy and litigation, according to experts.
While the international court of justice\u2019s (ICJ) 2025 advisory opinion<\/a> was at the time hailed as a \u201chistoric win\u201d for small island states<\/a> particularly vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, it has so far proved weak as a diplomatic lever<\/a>.
To try to help it make a difference on the ground, Vanuatu led negotiations on a new UN resolution, a lengthy process that required numerous compromises<\/a>.
The final version<\/a>, co-sponsored by 90 countries, urges states to transition away from fossil fuels in a \u201cjust, orderly and equitable manner\u201d to reach net zero by 2050, and to phase out \u201cinefficient fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or just transitions as soon as possible\u201d.
But the resolution explicitly does not attribute responsibility to any particular state.
Although the final resolution did not achieve the unanimity Vanuatu<\/a> had sought, 141 countries voted in favour, with 28 abstentions. Eight states voted against it, including some of the world\u2019s biggest producers of oil and gas: the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Israel, Yemen and Liberia.
The advisory opinion has so far had more impact domestically than diplomatically. Harj Narulla, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London who was counsel for Solomon Islands during the ICJ proceedings, said it had already proved transformative for domestic litigation<\/a>. \u201cThis resolution won\u2019t change that, but it does add great political weight behind the opinion which judges take notice of, even if they won\u2019t say it publicly.\u201d
It may also support domestic lawmakers trying to introduce new legislation and setting climate goals.
Joie Chowdhury, the climate justice and accountability manager at the Center for International Environmental Law, said: \u201cOne of the important spaces where we have already seen uptake of the ICJ\u2019s legal conclusions is in nationally determined contributions<\/a>. The resolution can further encourage national climate plans to integrate the advisory opinion\u2019s findings.\u201d
But Narulla said the new resolution was likely to have the greatest influence on climate diplomacy. \u201cThe international community is showing that Cop is not the only forum that matters and, if progress stalls there<\/a>, then climate action will be pursued through the general assembly and in other multilateral spaces.\u201d
Rebecca Newsom, the global political lead at Greenpeace International, said the timing of the vote, after the inaugural fossil fuel phaseout conference in Santa Marta<\/a>, Colombia, last month and the impact of the energy crisis<\/a> on the fossil fuel industry, showed \u201cpolitical momentum is clearly growing\u201d.
\u201cGovernments must now translate this resolution into tangible roadmaps to equitably phase out fossil fuel exploitation, production and consumption,\u201d said Newsom.
Tuvalu is due to host a meeting<\/a> of world leaders in October, before the Cop31 global climate talks in Turkey the following month. It has also agreed to co-host the second fossil fuel phaseout conference<\/a> early next year.
Meanwhile the world\u2019s biggest oil and gas producers remain opposed to any suggestion that they have legal obligations to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions. The US, for example, reportedly lobbied to drop the UN resolution altogether<\/a>. Before the vote, the US ambassador Tammy Bruce criticised the text for singling out \u201ccertain groups for preferential treatment\u201d and making \u201calarmist political statements, such as the idea that climate change is an unprecedented challenge of civilisational proportions\u201d.
Narulla said these votes against did not meaningfully weaken the resolution. \u201cAt this point, we expect large fossil fuel producers like the US and Saudi Arabia to oppose any meaningful diplomatic progress on climate change. What\u2019s impressive is that beyond this small group, such an overwhelming majority was secured \u2013 including many states wholly dependent on fossil fuels.\u201d
It is worth noting that few states have yet announced specific policies as a result of the advisory opinion, and even some of those voting in favour of the resolution sought to qualify their approval. Australia\u2019s ambassador to the UN, James Larsen, said \u201cstates continue to hold differing views on the scope and content of some of those obligations\u201d.
Some aspects of the resolution were less controversial, including a recognition that nations should maintain their statehood and maritime boundaries<\/a> even if their land disappears underwater.<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as \u2018new chapter\u2019 that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation effortsWhen the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu\u2019s prime minister hailed the result as the start of \u201ca new chapter\u201d in climate action.\u201cThe task before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}