Trump administration urges nations to call for the withdrawal of UN climate proposal

The Trump administration is urging other nations to press a tiny Pacific island country to withdraw a United Nations draft resolution supporting strong action to prevent climate change including reparations for damage caused by any nation that fails to take actionIn guidance issued this week to all US embassies and consulates abroad the State Department said it strongly objects to the proposal being discussed by the UN General Assembly and that its adoption could pose a major threat to US industryPresident Trump has delivered a very clear message that the UN and many nations of the world have gone wildly off track exaggerating climate change into the worlds greatest threat according to the cable sent Tuesday and obtained by The Associated PressIt is the latest move by the Trump administration to distance the US from climate change efforts at home and around the world A day ago the government revoked a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for US action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions The US last month also announced plans to withdraw from the UN treaty that establishes international climate negotiationsThe draft resolution sponsored by Vanuatu which like many island nations fears for its survival because of climate change is being circulated among the 193member General Assembly and stems from a landmark advisory opinion by the UNs top court last JulyThe International Court of Justice said countries could be in violation of international law if they fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change and nations harmed by its effects could be entitled to reparationsAll UN member states including major greenhouse gas emitters like the US and China are parties to the court The opinion is not legally binding but was hailed as a turning point in international climate lawThe draft resolution expresses determination to translate the ICJs findings in to concrete multinational action and calls on all nations and regional organisations to comply with their obligations under international law related to climate changeThe proposal says that includes adopting a national climate action plan to limit global temperature rise to below 15 degrees Celsius phasing out subsidies for fossil fuel exploration production and exploitation and urging those in violation to provide full and prompt reparation for damage It would establish an International Register of Damage to record evidence and claimsVanuatus UN Ambassador Odo Tevi who said his island country wants a vote on the resolution by the end of March has stressed that it would ensure that the clarity in the ICJ ruling strengthens global climate action and multilateral cooperationLouis Charbonneau UN director of Human Rights Watch urged support for the draft resolution Friday and said governments should live up to their obligation to protect human rights around the world by protecting the environmentResponsible governments shouldnt allow themselves to be bullied by those that reject the global scientific consensus and continue to support reliance on harmful fossil fuels he said While General Assembly resolutions also are not legally binding the ICJ said taking action to deal with the climate crisis is an international obligationThe resolution attempts to turn the ICJs interpretation of key legal standards into a practical roadmap for state accountability which is likely to trigger political pushback from higher income high emitting countries wary of their historical responsibility and financial liability Candy Ofime climate justice researcher and legal adviser at Amnesty International said in a statement FridayThe State Department cable outlined plans to tell other countries to urge Vanuatu to withdraw its draft which the US says is even more problematic than the court opinion from consideration by Friday when informal consultations beganIt asserted that other Group of 7 economic powers as well as China Saudi Arabia and Russia have all indicated to the US Mission to the UN that they share Americans concerns with aspects of the draftThis UNGA resolution is another example of UN overreach part of a broader pattern of trying to use speculative climate models to fabricate purported legal obligations that seek to assign blame and encourage baseless claims and to infer human rights obligations to which states have not agreed according to the cable which tells US diplomats to use it as a talking point with representatives of other countriesMany mainstream scientists have continuously warned that climate change is behind increasing instances of deadly and costly extreme weather including flooding droughts wildfires intense rainfall events and dangerous heat