Climate-hit Pacific Islands plot landmark UN court case [Video]

Five Pacific nations on Thursday plotted how to prosecute a pivotal UN court case that aims to hold climate-polluting countries to account and safeguard their islands’ survival.

The International Court of Justice will start hearings on December 2 in a case that will test countries’ climate obligations and whether they can be sued for failing to act.

Vanuatu’s Attorney-General Arnold Kiel Loughman told AFP on Thursday that the case was “important” and could give climate-hit small island states more leverage to force change.

He met this week with his counterparts from Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu to discuss the case, prepare legal arguments and meet experts.

“It concerns our very livelihood because climate change affects weather patterns, it affects our land and sea and basically the environment we live in,” Loughman said.

And while there were countless international forums talking about climate change, he said there had been …