Australia backs historic United Nations climate vote
Australia has voted in favor of a landmark United Nations resolution led by its Pacific island neighbors to strengthen the state’s responsibility to act on climate change.
The 193-member global body on Wednesday approved an advisory opinion provided by the world’s highest court, which specifically warned that failure to halt fossil fuel production could be an “internationally unjust act.”
The challenging legal opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice in July 2025 was first drafted by a group of Pacific students and was first addressed by Vanuatu.
Backed by Pacific allies, the climate-vulnerable island nation was also the first country to sponsor the UN General Assembly resolution, which passed with 141 votes in favour, 8 against and 28 abstentions.
“This should be a turning point in terms of liability for climate damage,” said Vishal Prasad, one of the students who promoted the ICJ’s advisory opinion.
“Front-line communities, as in the Pacific, have been waiting too long and continue to pay too high a price for the actions of others,” said the director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.
Amanda McKenzie, president of the Australia-based Climate Council, said the decision exposed the federal government’s stance on fossil fuel exports.
“While the government is ramping up renewable energy, it is still giving fossil fuel giants a free ride,” he said.
“Continuing to build massive new coal and gas projects puts our children’s future at risk and is now clearly against international law.”
Australia, which is pursuing significant domestic emissions cuts with ambitious renewable energy targets but remains a major coal and gas exporter, voted in favor of the resolution.
Other major fossil fuel producers, including the United States, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, opposed the measure.
However, Australia was not among the 69 co-sponsors that participated in the vote; this made it and New Zealand the only Pacific countries not included on the list.
Australia is taking a key chair role in negotiations leading to the next Conference of the Parties climate change talks in Türkiye, where Fiji and Tuvalu are preparing to hold formal pre-event meetings.
Low-lying Tuvalu is expected to lose 90 percent of its land to the ocean by the end of the century due to sea level rise.
The UN General Assembly resolution formally confirms the ICJ’s findings and calls on governments to adopt policies to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
It also calls for violating countries to compensate for damages and calls for regulation of fossil fuel companies.
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