Vanuatu calls on Australia to back its UN bid to recognise climate change harm

Pacific countries such as Vanuatu are at the forefront of the climate crisis, facing the loss of low-lying islands to sea level rise, among other effects. Photograph: Ginny Stein/The Guardian

Australia’s new Labor government has been called on to prove its commitment to climate action and support for Pacific countries by backing a campaign led by Vanuatu to see international law changed to recognise climate change harm.

In a letter to the prime minister sent by leading Pacific and Australian NGOs, shared exclusively with Guardian Australia, the groups urged Anthony Albanese to support Vanuatu’s campaign for the international court of justice to issue an advisory opinion on the question of climate change.