Barbados makes World Court case in landmark climate battle

Barbados has taken its fight for climate justice to the world’s highest court, calling for decisive international action to safeguard vulnerable nations like itself from the escalating climate crisis in what has been described as the world’s biggest climate case.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds warned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that for small island developing states, the issue is not theoretical but a matter of survival, as rising sea levels and extreme weather threaten their very existence.

More than 100 countries and organisations are presenting arguments on what states should be legally required to do to combat climate change over the next two weeks.

The ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, is expected to deliver an advisory opinion next year.

Barbados’ presentation focused on the climate crisis and highlighted the urgency of achieving climate justice and providing assistance to build sustainability and resilience. These measures, it argued, are critical for the survival of small island developing states (SIDS), which are disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters.

In his presentation, Symmonds emphasised that the climate crisis is a pressing matter of life and death for Barbados and other SIDS.

He declared: “It is not, Mr President, a statistical matter; it is not a theoretical or speculative matter, but it is a matter of life and death, simply because of the fact that for the people of small island developing states such as mine, there is nowhere to go when confronted with rising sea levels; there is no hinterland, there is no interior, there is no area of as-yet unexplored territory.”

Symmonds further warned that the island’s way of life is under threat.

He said: “The tourism sector, which has buoyed our economic fortunes for the better part of a century, is at risk. The fishing sector, which has been a sustainable source of protein for generations of Barbadians, is at risk. The sugar cane we have grown for hundreds of years and from which we distil our world-famous rum is also at risk.”

The minister cited Hurricane Beryl, which destroyed 90 per cent of the fishing fleet, and the severe drought conditions of 2023 as clear evidence of the climate crisis’ damaging effects.

Symmonds, the senior minister for the productive sectors, also highlighted the economic challenges faced by SIDS as a result of frequent natural disasters, which have led to insurance companies withdrawing coverage.

He told the court: “The economic consequences are no less palpable than the environmental ones to which I have just referred. Even as productive sectors are affected, the ability of the State to provide support is undermined by rising costs of finance and, increasingly, the challenge of securing sustainable insurance. My country, like some regions in larger countries, is in grave danger of becoming uninsurable. It follows logically, Mr President, that without the ability to access or sustain insurance premiums, a country’s economy will also become uninvestable.”

He stressed that there are serious consequences to this man-made crisis and said Barbados is seeking answers to the questions unanimously posed by the UN General Assembly.

Barbados’ co-representatives, Ambassador François Jackman, the Permanent Representative to the UN, legal counsel Professor Robert Volterra and Gunja Sharma, another external legal counsel for Barbados, also made presentations before the court.  (BGIS/BT)