Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31) — The government should “actively engage” in the hearings that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will conduct on the country’s duties to “protect human rights from the climate crisis,” an environmental group said.
“The current administration must represent the interests of the Filipino people in seeking climate justice,” Greenpeace Philippines said Wednesday in a statement.
“As well as payment for loss and damage–not just from states but also from fossil fuel companies that have contributed the lion’s share to historical and present carbon emissions,” it added.
The ICJ will conduct a series of hearings and request submissions after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that obliged world leaders to “ensure the protection of the climate system” and present the “legal consequences” caused by failing to fulfil those obligations.
“This [resolution] gives Filipinos hope that we can demand more ambitious climate action and an end to fossil fuel extraction and expansion, in order to secure the survival of present and future generations,” said Virginia Benosa-Llorin, Greenpeace Philippines senior campaigner for climate justice.
