Changing attitudes toward the environment

Typhoon Bualoi and many other storms have claimed hundreds and even thousands of lives across several countries, including Vietnam’s Tuyen Quang Province. Every year, hundreds of thousands of homes are destroyed, vast stretches of farmland are submerged, and many families lose everything overnight. People are bearing increasingly severe consequences of natural disasters.

It is time to recognize that climate change is no longer a distant warning but a present injustice. The economic interests of developed nations and large corporations cannot continue to be built on the loss of lives and livelihoods of millions of impoverished people in distant regions. Accountability must be taken for the civilian lives and properties swept away by floods.

In April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights, for the first time, ruled against Switzerland for “failing to act on climate change.” In May 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea affirmed that states party to the Montego Bay Convention are obligated to reduce emissions to protect the oceans, stressing that the world’s biggest polluters must strengthen their efforts. By July 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights further asserted the “human right to live in a healthy climate” and an “absolute legal prohibition against any act causing irreparable harm to the environment and climate.”

On July 23, 2025, the United Nations’ highest judicial body issued a historic advisory opinion, declaring that breaching climate obligations constitutes “an internationally wrongful act” that entails full reparation responsibilities.

These developments mark a significant shift in international jurisprudence - transforming environmental commitments into binding legal obligations and holding developed countries and major polluters accountable through trade and tax sanctions.

Above all, each individual, especially those living in flood-prone areas, is both a victim and a responsible actor. Changing daily habits, conserving energy, reducing plastic waste, and heeding disaster warnings are not only acts of self-protection but also crucial steps toward safeguarding the environment and our shared future.

Thai An