In 2019, 27 law students at the University of the South Pacific had an idea that sounded almost impossibly ambitious: they should take the issue of climate change to the International Court of Justice.

Six years later, in 2025, the Court delivered its opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change. On 20 May 2026, the General Assembly adopted a resolution welcoming it.

That path, from a student-led campaign to a landmark legal opinion and a UN resolution, was led by the Pacific. Young Pacific climate advocates started the process, and Vanuatu was the country that carried it through to the UN General Assembly.

This left our Embassy pondering what happens after this ICJ Advisory Opinion has been adopted and what exactly comes next for states obligations in regard to climate change?

 Netherlands Climate Envoy H.E. Jan Versteeg gives his reflections on the panel. 

On the morning of Wednesday 7 October, we put that question to a panel. “From Advisory to Action: Making the ICJ Advisory Opinion Count” was co-hosted with the Government of Vanuatu and the University of Fiji.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has a particular reason to care about this issue. We joined the core group that drafted the General Assembly resolution alongside Barbados, Burkina Faso, Jamaica, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Philippines, Singapore and Sierra Leone. We also have Caribbean parts of the Kingdom whose climate vulnerabilities echo those of Pacific states.

The aim of our event was simple. A legal opinion only matters if it changes what governments do, so we wanted to create a platform where Vanuatu and other Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) could tell their own story and set out practical next steps, with the Netherlands in a supporting role.

Our event was kicked off with keynotes from two different sides of the narrative. EU Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, responsible for climate, net zero and clean growth, gave the view from the European Commission and Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change and the Pacific Ministerial Champion for Loss and Damage, gave Vanuatu’s perspective. Both speakers emphasized the need for the ICJ Advisory Opinion to support meaningful and tangible climate action.

Commissioner Hoekstra kickstarted the event with passionate commentary – “We commend the strength, the courage and the leadership of the islands and the ICJ case is an example of where we can support and amplify these efforts.” He said the EU would keep backing Pacific led climate action and resilience.

Minister Reganvanu built upon this message and emphasized that “Our measure of success must be the difference an outcome makes - not simply that we secured an outcome.” An important message to keep in mind as we approach COP 31 in Türkiye in November.

After these keynotes, we kicked off our main panel discussion. The panel was moderated by Patricia Chand of the University of Fiji and brought together:

• Lee-Anne Sackett, Vanuatu’s Special Envoy for Climate Justice and its lead negotiator on the 2026 UN General Assembly resolution.
• Dr. Siobhan McDonnell, of the Australian National University, a lead climate negotiator for Pacific governments since 2019.
• Vishal Prasad, Campaign Director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, who addressed the judges at The Hague in December 2024.

A key take away from the conversation was that we all have to normalize this conversation outside of the diplomatic and legal circles in which it is commonly discussed. We all need to become champions of the advisory opinion and find ways for us to bring it to the forefront in our own professional circles. As Minister Reganvanu said, “As we prepare for COP31, we should ask where our collective effort can deliver the strongest action, and how each process can reinforce the others.”

The Netherlands remains committed to working with Pacific countries to bring the issue of climate change higher on the international agenda, deal with the impacts of the climate crisis in the region and find ways to strengthen their autonomy and resilience.

 Lee-Anne Sackett sharing her views on the ICJ Advisory Opinion and what comes next. 

Importantly, we wouldn't have been able to organise such an interesting and insightful panel discussion without the support of the University of Fiji. Their support, knowledge and help with logistics was invaluable and their staff were a pleasure to collaborate with. 

Netherlands’ Contribution to Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF):

Another highlight from Pre-COP was that we had an opportunity to announce something we've been quietly working on for a while now. As a country with 26% of its land surface below sea level, the Netherlands feels a strong solidarity with the Pacific island countries and their struggle with sea-level rise. That’s why at the Pacific Pre-COP in Fiji, the Netherlands Climate Envoy H.E. Jan Versteeg pledged a EUR 1 million contribution to the Pacific Resilience Facility.

The PRF is a Pacific-led fund designed to support small-scale resilience and adaptation projects at the community level. This complements the important work of larger institutions such as the Green Climate Fund and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), of which the Netherlands is also a founding member.

At one of the meetings in Fiji, the PRF was compared to a breadfruit tree: strongly rooted and continuing to provide nourishment over many years. In much the same way, the PRF is rooted in the Pacific and aims to provide lasting benefits to communities across the region.

 Panelists and staff from the Netherlands' Embassies and the University of Fiji