ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder said industrialised countries are obligated to vulnerable, non-emitting countries for their contribution to the climate crisis.

His comment came during a United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner Human Rights 75 High-Level Climate and Environment Roundtable in Switzerland.

Representatives discussed justice and accountability for environmental harm.

“The Bahamas supports the United Nations (UN) Resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of states in respect of climate change,” he said. “We view the resolution as a significant milestone in our decades-long struggle for climate justice. The Bahamas will be submitting a written statement in support of the advisory opinion calling for differentiated responsibilities based on proportional contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Bahamas is taking a proactive approach. The effects of the climate crisis have created a need for catastrophic property insurance to either be unavailable or beyond the reach of many in The Bahamas. The Bahamas has, therefore, committed to develop an insurance product that will be funded from the aforementioned liabilities of private industry and industrialised states. We are, therefore, not only fighting to achieve climate justice, but also working to ensure that its reparations accrue to the benefit of the most vulnerable.”