![[REMARKS] PIF SG at the reception for the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change](https://forumsec.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/0R9A5452.JPG "[REMARKS] PIF SG at the reception for the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change")
Delivered by the Pacific Islands Secretary General, Baron Waqa at the Reception for the International Court of Justice on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.
28 July 2025, PIF Secretariat, Suva, Fiji.
Her Excellency, Viran Brown, High Commissioner of Vanuatu,
UN Resident Coordinator, Mr Dirk Wagener
Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change,
Representatives of Government, Civil Society, Youth and Community,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Bula Vinaka and Warm Pacific Greetings
It is an honour to welcome you all to the Secretariat this afternoon, to commemorate a truly historic milestone - the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.
I thank High Commissioner Brown and the UN Resident Coordinator for co-hosting this event with us.
This journey began six years ago, with 27 passionate law students from the Pacific, who with conviction and courage, transformed climate advocacy into meaningful climate action. Today, their vision and determination has resulted in a landmark ruling from the highest court in the world - the International Court of Justice.
I also extend heartfelt congratulations to the Government and People of Vanuatu for their steadfast and visionary leadership in championing the Advisory Opinion, both within our region and globally.
The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion marks a pivotal moment for our region, forging a new legal pathway that strengthens our efforts to safeguard our ocean, our people, and our environment, from the devastating impacts caused by climate change.
It reinforces the vision of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, “for a resilient Pacific Region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity, that ensures all Pacific peoples can lead free, healthy and productive lives”.
It also reaffirms the Boe Declaration’s framing of climate change as the Pacific’s single greatest threat, to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific, and our commitment to progress the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
This Opinion reflects the enduring call by Forum Leaders and Pacific peoples that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but a matter of international justice, human rights, and intergenerational equity.
Importantly, it also aligns with the Pacific’s legal positions as articulated in the 2021 PIF Maritime Zones Declaration and the 2023 PIF Statehood Declaration, both of which continue to help shape global discourse on the complex and unprecedented legal challenges posed by sea-level rise.
Excellencies, this Advisory Opinion stands as a powerful affirmation of what we can achieve when we work together as one Blue Pacific.
As we look ahead to the 54th Forum Leaders Meeting, to be convened in the Solomon Islands under the theme of “Iumi Tugeda”- Act now for an integrated Blue Pacific Continent, there is no better time reaffirm our regional unity, and to reimagine our collective approach, both within the Pacific and with the global community.
We now have a clear legal roadmap, to pursue the transformative change and accountability that is so urgently needed in the global fight against climate change.
Today, as we honour this remarkable achievement, we call upon our partners to uphold the Advisory Opinion and to deliver on its potential - for our planet, our people, and our children, who will one day inherit this planet, and the consequences of our actions today.
Tūbwa, I thank you.
[ENDS]
