Climate-threatened Pacific islands are pushing for the International Court of Justice to throw its weight behind efforts to arrest climate change, with the initiative gaining support at a key regional summit in Fiji recently.
The Pacific nation of Vanuatu is spearheading a campaign to ask the Hague-based tribunal "to protect the rights of present and future generations against the effects of climate change".
Vanuatu's Foreign Minister Marc Ati recently said that he was confident leaders from neighboring islands, including Australia and New Zealand, would endorse the push at the Pacific Islands Forum in the Fijian capital Suva.
The plan will need the backing of a majority of countries at the United Nations General Assembly in September to be put to the world's highest court.
Support from the countries meeting at this week's Fiji summit could be crucial to get the UN vote across the line.
Ati said he had "met with all my counterparts, they confirmed their support".
