Something terrifying happened last week. The UN General Assembly supported the International Court of Justice in its shameless climate crusade against Western treasuries.
The purpose being, essentially, to use the weather as a means of attaining reparations for a fictional apocalypse that has already cost the global economy trillions.
Put simply, it is a system of wealth transfer where so-called poor nations can sue rich nations every time a storm hits and demand innocent taxpayers rebuild infrastructure in a foreign country.
Well, with conditions, but you catch my drift.
This all started when some nations realised they could dig themselves out of self-inflicted economic strife and governance neglect by exploiting suicidal empathy. Roughly 20 years ago, the rivers of gold began to flow.
Donald Trump sensibly removed the US from this nonsense, withdrawing America from the Paris Agreement and other green-fingered global ventures. This hasn’t stopped the UN from threatening to use other global UN agreements to enforce the ruling.
Plenty of Australian political and social commentators saw this coming, even before the original case was lodged with the International Court of Justice. The ruling, handed down in July of 2025, cemented a worst-fear scenario when it said that [Nation] States have some form of obligation to protect ‘the environment’ from ‘greenhouse gas emissions’.
This turned things like the Paris Agreement from an aspirational document (already a poor description for something ratified in Australian law), to a legal liability with serious financial risk.
According to the UN:
‘The Court also ruled that if States breach these obligations, they are legally responsible and may be legally required to stop the wrongful conduct, offer guarantees that it won’t happen, and make full reparation, depending on circumstances.’
This is apparently ‘not binding’ but we all know how ‘not binding’ is treated by our climate-obsessed political class who view bending the knee to the IPCC as an election-winning tactic.
‘The world’s highest court has spoken. Today, the General Assembly has answered.’
Of course, it’s more likely the Taliban will be gifted climate change financing than Australia, one of the cleanest nations on the planet, be given immunity from vexatious climate litigation.
The UN particularly mentioned the Paris Agreement in their celebratory articles.
‘The resolution calls on all UN Member States to take all possible steps to avoid causing significant damage to the climate and environment, including emissions produced within their borders, and to follow through on their existing pledges under the Paris Agreement.’
I wonder how much longer Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan will run cover for the Paris Agreement? Their most dangerous rival, One Nation, has a shredder organised for that document and the conservative public is seriously considering putting them in power if only to make confetti.
The Coalition has been given what will likely be its final warning on this matter, with the UN Secretary-General getting all excited talking about ‘climate justice’ and ‘equitable transitions’.
Australia could not overturn this vote. It enjoyed a victory of 141 (mostly third-world nations expecting a payout and a few delusional Westerners) to 8 (Israel and the US plus a few oil giants including Russia), and 28 cowards including India, South Africa, Sudan, Pakistan, and Argentina.
Our Ambassador said:
‘Climate change affects every nation, but nowhere acutely than in the Pacific. For our region, this is not a distant warning, but a daily reality … Pacific countries have long led the world in calling for stronger climate action … the breadth of support matters. Climate change cannot be solved by any country acting alone. It demands global cooperation, and multilateral engagement remains key.’
Others might say that the Pacific nations and their governments are having us on and wouldn’t be quite so devoted to ‘climate action’ if it weren’t so damn lucrative.
Given how difficult it is to pinpoint statistics on this (it’s almost as if our governments don’t want to show us a total figure), I have leaned on AI to help me search. It reckons that the Climate Change Finance Shakedown Industry (my name for it if I were elected) is worth billions in the past 20 years to the Pacific region. The US alone poured in $15-odd billion and Australia something like $4 billion. China bought influence with over $15 billion, although their bill is tough to tally due to their debt-trap diplomacy and unofficial investments.
No matter how you look at it, the Pacific nations, far from being victims, are growing rich off the politics of climate change while the people of Australia are suffering a financial crisis and our Treasurer is raising taxes on workers and investors to drag the economy – limping – to the next budget. I’ll be stunned if one of these Pacific nations isn’t making climate reparations claims under the ICJ ruling before the next election.
Vanuatu took the lead by bringing this case, with their Minister of Climate Change saying: ‘This is a victory for multilateralism, for the rule of law, and for communities on the front lines of the climate crisis.’
This would be the same Vanuatu that has received (or been promised) hundreds of millions of US dollars in some form of climate support. Perhaps Vanuatu would do better to consider its domestic pollution problems. After all, it engages in slash-and-burn agriculture, waste-burning, and fossil fuel power generators.
Australia made it clear that ‘our support for this resolution should not be interpreted as our agreement with every element of the advisory opinion, nor should it be read as our acceptance of the way the resolution interprets each of the Court’s conclusions’.
So, why did we … expose ourselves to international climate reparations on a general green vibe?
‘Rather, our support reflects our recognition of the seriousness of the climate crisis, the need for concrete action, and the positive role of the International Court of Justice opinion in support of global efforts.’
Yep. That’s a vibe. A vibe that might just hold up in court.
If we want to support ‘vibes’, we can just say so. We do not need to vote in favour of them or belong to institutions that impose these things on us thanks to the tyranny of a majority who stand to benefit from our ruin.
‘Historical responsibility remains important, and as a developed country, Australia will continue to do our part.’
Historically and presently, Australia is one of the most environmentally responsible nations on the planet and, if I had my way, we would tell the UN and all their climate-hangers on to get lost. Go to China, India, Russia, Asia, or the Middle East if they want someone to answer for emissions and pollution.
Here’s my favourite line. Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN climate framework requires ‘sustained ambition, especially from major emitters past, present, and future’.
Yikes.
The Guardian ran an article last year on this potential ruling, pointing out ‘that a state’s failure to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions, including through the production and consumption of fossil fuels, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licences, or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies “may constitute an international wrongful act which is attributable to that state”.’
The article went on to say ‘[Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister] said the document would be a vital tool in upcoming climate negotiations and was likely to inspire new lawsuits. Advisory opinions are technically non-binding but they are considered authoritative because they summarise existing law rather than create laws.’
And finally the article says: ‘A barrister specialising in climate litigation and counsel for Solomon Islands in the case, said the ICJ laid out the possibility of big emitters being successfully sued. “These reparations involve restitution – such as rebuilding destroyed infrastructure and restoring ecosystems – and also monetary compensation.”’
Meanwhile, a Senior Attorney at the Centre of International Environmental Law called the ICJ ruling a ‘watershed legal moment’.
Yeah, one that might just drown us in climate reparations.
This isn’t about the climate or rising sea levels. It’s that old socialist eat the rich with a mouth full of sharp green teeth.
Flat White is written by Alexandra Marshall. If you would like to support her work, shout her a coffee over at donor-box.
