UN climate vote exposes split over law, fossil fuels and China’s emissions rise

New York| 23 May 2026: The United Nations General Assembly has backed a Vanuatu-led climate resolution linked to last year’s International Court of Justice ruling, but the vote also exposed a hard dispute over legal liability, national sovereignty, fossil fuel use and the emissions record of China and India.

The resolution passed with 141 votes in favour, eight against and 28 abstentions. Belarus, Iran, Israel, Liberia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Yemen voted against it. 

The resolution supports the ICJ’s July 2025 advisory opinion, which said states have obligations under international law to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions. It also said states breaching those duties may face legal responsibility, including reparations in some circumstances. 

The Trump administration opposed the resolution on clear policy grounds. Washington said the text placed inappropriate political demands on fossil fuels and opened the door to legal arguments against states over climate damage. US Deputy Ambassador Tammy Bruce also rejected a request asking the UN Secretary-General to report back on legal issues arising from the ICJ opinion. 

Trump’s climate policy since returning to office has centred on energy sovereignty, cheaper power, domestic oil and gas, coal, minerals, jobs and industrial security. His January 2025 order withdrawing the US from Paris-related climate commitments said international environmental agreements must not unfairly burden the American economy. 

A second Trump order made expanded domestic energy production official US policy, linking fossil fuels and natural resources to prosperity, manufacturing strength, national security and lower household costs. 

The American argument also rests on a blunt emissions point: China and India remain central to global emissions growth. EDGAR’s 2025 report said China, the United States, India, the EU27, Russia and Indonesia produced 61.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2024. It also found China, India, Russia and Indonesia increased emissions in 2024, with India recording the largest absolute increase among top emitters. 

IEA data gives the same picture. India’s energy-related CO₂ emissions rose 5.3% in 2024, the highest rate among major economies, driven by growth, infrastructure, heatwaves and rising electricity demand. China’s emissions rose 0.4%, while US energy-related CO₂ emissions fell 0.5% in 2024. 

That is the fairness argument behind Washington’s position: the US faces legal pressure, climate lawsuits and fossil fuel restrictions while China and India continue expanding energy use to power industry, cities and exports. In Trump’s view, climate law should not punish American workers, manufacturers and energy producers while fast-rising economies keep lifting emissions.

Pacific island states see the same issue from the opposite end. Vanuatu and other vulnerable countries argue rising seas, saltwater intrusion, coastal loss and stronger storms are already damaging communities with tiny emissions footprints.

The resolution is not binding, but it gives climate-vulnerable countries another legal reference point. Future lawsuits, treaty debates and compensation claims will likely cite both the ICJ opinion and this General Assembly vote.

US pressures Vanuatu at UN over ICJ’s landmark climate change ruling

Cable seen by Al Jazeera says the US ‘strongly objects’ to the island nation seeking support for ICJ’s landmark climate ruling.

The United States is urging governments to pressure Vanuatu to withdraw a United Nations draft resolution supporting a landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that countries have a legal obligation to act on climate change.

A US State Department cable seen by Al Jazeera on Saturday says that the Trump administration “strongly objects” to the proposed resolution being circulated by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in support of last year’s ruling by the ICJ – the UN’s top court.

nounced it was putting forward the draft UN resolution for consideration.

“We are strongly urging Vanuatu to immediately withdraw its draft resolution and cease attempting to wield the Court’s Advisory Opinion as a basis for creating an avenue to pursue any misguided claims of international legal obligations,” a copy of the cable seen by Al Jazeera states.

The ICJ’s 15 judges considered tens of thousands of pages of written submissions and two weeks of oral arguments during the court’s biggest-ever case, before delivering their verdict last year that states have a legal obligation to act on the “existential threat” of climate change.

The ICJ case took place after Vanuatu won the support of 132 countries in the UN General Assembly, which can request opinions from The Hague-based court.

It also came as the Trump administration has sought to undo US action on climate change, both at home and at the UN.

The US cable claims that Vanuatu’s proposed UN resolution in support of the ICJ opinion was based on “speculative climate models to fabricate purported legal obligations that seek to assign blame and encourage baseless claims”.

Louis Charbonneau, Human Rights Watch’s director at the UN, urged support for Vanuatu’s draft resolution on Friday, saying “governments should live up to their obligation” to protect human rights around the world by protecting the environment.

“Responsible governments shouldn’t allow themselves to be bullied by those that reject the global scientific consensus and continue to support reliance on harmful fossil fuels,” he said.

ing “strengthens global climate action and multilateral cooperation”.

An article in Vanuatu’s Daily Post newspaper said that the draft resolution has been endorsed by countries including Barbados, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Jamaica, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Netherlands, Palau, the Philippines, Singapore and Sierra Leone.

Many of these countries are already experiencing the worsening effects of climate change, including increasingly severe storms.

Trump, who has promised to “drill, baby drill” for oil in his second term, has withdrawn the US from UN climate bodies, including the UN’s top climate change treaty body, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Trump has also threatened to impose sanctions on diplomats who voted for a levy on polluting shipping fuels at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).