Vanuatu Climate Minister Ralph Regenvanu On UN Ocean Conference

“It is time to move beyond voluntary pledges to making climate action a binding legal duty.”

Statement from Ralph Regenvanu,
Minister of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology & Geo-Hazards, Energy, Environment and Disaster Management for the Republic of Vanuatu
NICE, FRANCE (9 June 2025)

“At this UN Ocean Conference, the stakes could not be clearer.

“Vanuatu's contributions to climate change are minimal, yet we — and our neighbours — suffer severe repeated climate impacts that devastate our economy and people. We are living through the collapse of ocean stability and witnessing a dangerous acceleration in sea-level rise and ocean temperatures. Our oceans are increasingly hostile even to the very creatures that live in them. The consequences of this will ripple through the entire food chain, hitting vulnerable countries like Vanuatu the hardest and ultimately affecting all of humanity and future generations. The role of our ocean as our greatest carbon sink is being threatened.

“The Nice Ocean Action Plan aligns with the standards set by the landmark International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) Advisory Opinion delivered in May 2024, which made it clear: greenhouse gas emissions are marine pollution. And under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, all States are legally bound to prevent, reduce, and control them. This obligation extends not only to domestic emissions but to global ones as well.

“Even so, plans like these are voluntary. Promises without enforcement. Declarations without duty.

“Protecting the ocean from climate change should not be a matter of choice. We need concrete mechanisms and independent monitoring to ensure that nations uphold their legal responsibilities. Conferences like this one, and the upcoming COP30, must not leave frontline nations feeling that nothing is changing — despite the overwhelming urgency.

“It is time to move beyond voluntary pledges to making climate action a binding legal duty.” Climate action must be grounded in a robust framework of legal principles: human rights, the right to self-determination, the duty to prevent harm, precautionary approaches, intergenerational equity, and obligations enshrined in key international treaties — from the Biodiversity Convention to the UNFCCC to the Law of the Sea.

“That’s why we eagerly await the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the broader climate obligations of nations, in hopes of a strong ruling supporting global accountability for the climate crisis and enforceable climate action.

“It’s time for States to catch up with the law, with the science, and with the urgency of this moment.”

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