Overview
- The General Assembly voted 141-8 with 28 abstentions to approve a nonbinding resolution that welcomes the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on states' duties on climate change on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
- The adopted text urges countries to adopt national climate action plans to keep warming below 1.5°C, to phase out subsidies for fossil fuel exploration and production, and it calls for states in violation to provide full reparation for damage.
- A proposed mechanism to create an “International Register of Damage” to record climate losses was removed during negotiations, a change island states and advocates say weakens concrete paths to claims and payments.
- The United States, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia were among the countries that opposed the resolution, and U.S. diplomats had urged other nations to press Vanuatu to withdraw the original draft.
- Supporters say the resolution gives the ICJ opinion political weight that courts and governments may cite in future cases and policy decisions, while vulnerable Pacific nations see it as a diplomatic lifeline as they plan migration and adaptation measures.