UN General Assembly Plenary
Explanation of Vote: GA resolution on the ICJ advisory opinion on climate change
Statement by H.E Mr. James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
20 May 2026
Thank you, Madam President.
First, let me congratulate our friends and colleagues from Vanuatu for its inspiring leadership of this issue.
Climate change affects every nation, but nowhere more acutely than in the Pacific.
For our region, this is not a distant warning but a daily reality.
Pacific countries have long led the world in calling for stronger climate action. This includes as proponents of the General Assembly’s successful request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, as well as the present resolution to welcome the Court’s unanimous opinion.
We commend the Pacific and Pacific youth for their global leadership.
Australia is proud to stand with you in supporting this resolution.
The breadth of support for this resolution matters.
Climate change cannot be solved by any country acting alone.
It demands global cooperation, and multilateral engagement remains key.
Australia welcomes the Court’s landmark advisory opinion, which has an important contribution to make in relation to the obligations of all States in responding to the climate emergency.
We are pleased the Court favourably considered the Pacific Islands Forum initiatives on climate change related sea‑level rise—an issue of profound significance for our region and one rightly highlighted in this resolution.
We look forward to continued discussions on sea-level rise at the UN, and are proud to be co-facilitating negotiations on a political declaration for our leaders to adopt in September this year.
Madame President,
Australia is committed to upholding its obligations under international law to protect the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
At the same time, as negotiations on this resolution have demonstrated, States continue to hold differing views on the scope and content of some of those obligations.
Australia is carefully considering the Court’s opinion, alongside the views we addressed in our submissions to the Court.
We engaged constructively throughout negotiations to seek to bridge divides in the resolution, and we commend the efforts of Vanuatu and the core group for their diplomacy in presenting a text that has achieved widespread support.
Our support for this resolution should not be interpreted as our agreement with every element of the advisory opinion. Nor should it be read as our acceptance of the way the resolution interprets each of the Court’s conclusions.
Rather, our support reflects our recognition of the seriousness of the climate crisis, the need for concrete action and the positive role of the International Court of Justice’s opinion in support of global efforts.
We hope this resolution will help galvanise practical efforts to protect the climate system and those most at risk.
Just as the world is not static, a state’s capacity to reduce emissions and respond to climate impacts changes over time.
Historical responsibility remains important, and as a developed country Australia will continue to do our part.
But meeting the goals of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement will require sustained ambition—especially from major emitters, past, present, and future.
In Australia’s view, the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement provide the primary forum for advancing climate action, including through processes like the Global Stocktake.
The case for multilateralism has never been clearer, nor has the direction of travel toward low‑carbon development.
As President of Negotiations of COP31, Australia will continue to work with all countries to accelerate global climate action—at home and in support of our region.
Thank you.