Landmark U.N. Resolution Holds Countries Accountable for Climate Crisis

The United Nations has adopted a landmark resolution that seeks to hold countries accountable for failing to respond to the climate crisis, while protecting more vulnerable nations. The nonbinding resolution was introduced by the low-lying Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu and calls on the International Court of Justice to establish obligations under international law for nations to protect their populations from the impacts of global heating. The United States did not support the resolution. This international effort to address climate change comes a week after the release of an IPCC report that found the Earth is on track to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius of global temperature change above preindustrial levels by the 2030s. For more, we’re joined by Solomon Yeo, a youth climate activist from the Solomon Islands and one of the 27 students from eight Pacific Island countries who campaigned for the new U.N. resolution. Yeo is the campaign director and co-founder of the youth-led organization Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.