A Defining Moment for Climate Justice: What to Watch For in the ICJ Climate Ruling – Center for International Environmental Law

Revealed July 21, 2025 

By Joie Chowdhury, Senior Legal professional on the Middle for Worldwide Environmental Regulation, and Sébastien Duyck, Senior Legal professional and Human Rights & Local weather Marketing campaign Supervisor on the Middle for Worldwide Environmental Regulation.

On July 23, 2025, the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) will ship a landmark Advisory Opinion (AO) on States’ authorized obligations to handle local weather change, probably one of the vital consequential authorized rulings of our instances. 

At a second when local weather devastation is accelerating worldwide and climate-destructive conduct too typically escapes accountability —with local weather polluters having fun with close to complete impunity— this ruling is poised to function an important authorized compass for local weather justice. The Courtroom’s authoritative opinion rooted in binding worldwide legislation may change into a guiding star for local weather insurance policies in any respect ranges of governance, throughout jurisdictions, reinforcing litigation in nationwide, regional, and worldwide courts, anchoring local weather ambition in authorized obligation,  and shaping diplomacy and multilateral negotiations for years to come back. 

At its core, the ICJ Advisory Opinion on local weather change addresses two basic questions:

What are States legally required to do beneath worldwide legislation — throughout human rights legislation, the UN Constitution, the Regulation of the Sea, worldwide environmental legislation together with as outlined by the local weather treaties, and past — to handle local weather change for each present and future generations?
What authorized penalties do States face in the event that they fail to fulfill these obligations, inflicting severe local weather hurt?

These questions strike on the coronary heart of local weather justice. Who bears duty for the local weather disaster, and for what conduct? What’s owed to those that have contributed the least to planet-warming emissions however are struggling the gravest impacts from local weather hurt – hurt that may be traced to the insurance policies and actions of particular states and companies? 

This case is about extra than simply the extent of ambition required from particular person States of their future local weather motion. It’s about reckoning with historic duty. It’s inconceivable to successfully and equitably handle the local weather disaster with out its origins and drivers. Authorized arguments introduced by a majority of nations within the proceedings affirm a vital fact: Previous emissions matter, and loss and harm already endured have to be acknowledged and repaired — not as charity, however as authorized obligation.  This implies not solely halting dangerous practices, but additionally delivering local weather reparations. 

Alongside the highly effective local weather advisory opinions from the Worldwide Tribunal for the Regulation of the Sea (ITLOS) and from the Inter-American Courtroom of Human Rights (IACtHR), the ICJ’s ruling presents an unprecedented alternative to clarify the place the authorized consensus lies on States’ local weather obligations beneath worldwide legislation. Worldwide authorized ideas dictate that the three worldwide rulings be learn coherently in order to harmonize States’ obligations beneath worldwide legislation. Trying forward, the African Courtroom on Human and Peoples’ Rights has additionally been requested to weigh-in on climate-related authorized obligations, deepening, from a regional perspective, the vital questions referring to States’ local weather duties. In live performance, these rulings have the transformative potential to reshape local weather governance, diplomacy, and litigation for many years to come back and to usher in a brand new period of local weather accountability. 

6 Key Points to Watch For within the ICJ Ruling

The sheer breadth of authorized points addressed on this case is critical, a lot of which recur in litigation, negotiations and nationwide stage legislative debates, revealing simply how far-reaching its affect could also be. Key authorized flashpoints which have emerged all through the proceedings function necessary indicators of what to look at for within the forthcoming ruling.

1. Past the Paris Settlement: The Scope and Supply of States’ Authorized Obligations on Local weather Change

 Main polluters typically attempt to keep away from accountability by claiming that their duties on local weather are restricted to what’s specified by the UN local weather agreements, and that these texts require little or no. However local weather treaties, just like the UN Framework Conference on Local weather Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Settlement, usually are not the one sources of States’ authorized obligations to handle the causes and penalties of the local weather disaster. These agreements ought to assist information States’ actions, however they don’t exhaustively — or solely — outline State duties of care or what duties they bear for stopping and remedying local weather hurt.  Latest local weather advisory opinions by ITLOS and the IACtHR, in addition to different landmark local weather instances, make it clear: State’s local weather obligations usually are not embedded simply in climate-specific treaties, but additionally beneath broader norms of worldwide legislation, together with human rights legislation, the legislation of the ocean, and normal ideas of worldwide legislation.

Local weather change isn’t just an environmental drawback — it’s  a worldwide phenomenon of transversal nature affecting almost each dimension of human existence, and ecological well-being. How the ICJ defines the total scope of States local weather obligations can have far-reaching authorized and sensible significance.

2. The Proper to Treatment and Reparations

A key problem within the proceedings is the authorized penalties for conduct that causes local weather hurt. The world’s greatest cumulative polluters tried to restrict their accountability earlier than the Courtroom. However an awesome majority of States urged the Courtroom to not sweep historical past beneath the rug. They demanded that these whose actions and inaction over a long time have introduced the world to the brink be held to account, emphasizing the precise to treatment and reparation — together with measures that transcend financial compensation.

The Courtroom’s conclusions  on the query of authorized penalties will carry nice weight, significantly as a result of the difficulty has not been completely addressed, not to mention resolved, in legislation and coverage so far. On this period of devastating and escalating local weather hurt, a transparent ruling from the ICJ may set up a a lot stronger authorized basis for local weather reparation — providing an important lifeline for nations and communities most affected by local weather impacts.

3. Human Rights of Current and Future Generations

The local weather disaster is well known as the best risk to human rights within the twenty first century. Each the European Courtroom of Human Rights and the Inter-American Courtroom of Human Rights have been clear and affirmative: the local weather disaster is a human rights disaster. Below present human rights obligations, States are required to behave urgently and successfully —guided by the very best obtainable science — to forestall hurt to individuals and the atmosphere and to guard them from it.

A central debate within the ICJ proceedings was how strongly these human rights obligations ought to form local weather policy-making. Arguments delved deeply into the precise to self-determination, the precise to a wholesome atmosphere, and the rights of future generations. The Courtroom’s evaluation may strengthen the authorized arguments and instruments obtainable to communities searching for to advertise and defend their rights — and would assist advance rights-based local weather litigation around the globe.

4. Preventive and Precautionary Rules

Below worldwide legislation, States have longstanding duties to not trigger or permit conduct inside their territories that might foreseeably trigger vital environmental hurt to different States. States are additionally required to take concrete motion to forestall such hurt from occurring within the first place — by regulating and controlling actions that danger inflicting it.

These preventive and precautionary ideas are central to substantive local weather mitigation obligations. They’re particularly necessary for making certain that new insurance policies and applied sciences launched as local weather options don’t themselves create dangers to human rights or the atmosphere. Latest local weather advisory opinions from ITLOS and the IACtHR have strongly affirmed the significance of those ideas in all local weather responses. How the ICJ interprets and applies them will form the authorized framework for efficient and significant local weather motion— and will strengthen the implementation of the local weather agreements.

5. Fairness and a Simply Transition

Within the local weather context, the ideas of fairness and “widespread however differentiated duties” imply that each one international locations share duty for addressing local weather change, however their obligations range based mostly on their capability and the way a lot they’ve contributed to the disaster. Whereas the precept of fairness is a basic tenet of worldwide legislation, the biggest cumulative polluters have typically challenged its relevance when defining particular person States’ duty for each tackling the basis causes of the local weather emergency and responding to already occurring harms.

An ample and significant interpretation of fairness is a key to unlocking decisive progress. It paves the way in which for a simply and speedy transition away from fossil fuels— with out inserting an unfair burden on international locations that contributed the least to local weather change. The Courtroom now has a possibility to interrupt this longstanding deadlock by making it clear, as a matter of legislation, that fairness should information world local weather motion.

6. Company Accountability and  Fossil Gasoline Phaseout

A number of States highlighted the obligation to manage companies whose conduct harms the climate-destructive company conduct. Their authorized arguments had been grounded in established norms equivalent to due diligence, the obligation to forestall hurt, human rights, and intergenerational fairness.

As a result of fossil fuels are the overwhelming supply of the greenhouse fuel (GHG) emissions inflicting local weather change and its devastating penalties, fossil gasoline phaseout was a focus—together with calls to finish subsidies, implement strict company regulation, and guarantee accountability for emissions. Given the fossil gasoline business’s outsized function in driving local weather change, the Courtroom’s therapy of those points may reinforce the  authority and obligation of States to  confront company impunity.

There shall be a reckoning within the ruling whether or not worldwide legislation can confront its colonial roots, and the deeply entrenched inequalities that form how local weather devastation is skilled as human rights hurt. 

The ICJ AO isn’t a theoretical authorized train. The problems central to the case contain actual and ongoing authorized violations with profound penalties for Peoples and nations throughout all areas. The stakes couldn’t be increased.

Why This Ruling Issues

Very similar to the IPCC defines the state-of-the-art science on local weather change, the ICJ’s ruling may come to outline the state of the legislation on local weather change, creating a transparent baseline in opposition to which to evaluate States’ actions (or inaction). The opinion will make clear what binding worldwide legislation requires international locations to do about local weather change, offering a guidepost to measure whether or not States are assembly their obligations— or falling quick.

ICJ opinions have formed governmental insurance policies and authorized methods previously, contributing to the important work of normative growth and enforcement. Courts worldwide will look to this ICJ’s local weather ruling as persuasive authority, shaping future judgments. The Courtroom’s authorized blueprint may assist break by way of political inertia on the nationwide stage, guiding the event of home legal guidelines and insurance policies. 

Crucially, a robust and clear ruling from the ICJ may set up a brand new authorized baseline for local weather motion in multilateral fora, taking part in a pivotal function in shaping outcomes at COP30 in Belém and past, with the potential to unlock stalled negotiations, strengthen calls for for local weather finance — together with for loss and harm — and reinforce the necessity for motion rooted in science. Additionally it is anticipated to bolster climate-justice aligned positions referring to the plastics treaty negotiations, and developments referring to a fossil gasoline non-proliferation treaty. By making clear that local weather ambition have to be grounded in authorized obligation, the Courtroom may sign the top of voluntary pledges throughout fora. 

The importance of this second goes past authorized doctrine. This case isn’t solely about black letter legislation, emissions, and technical targets; it’s about accountability and intergenerational justice. 

It doesn’t matter what the ultimate consequence is, these proceedings already characterize a historic turning level. They are the results of deep collaboration, inside and throughout areas, led by Vanuatu and plenty of World South international locations, and a strong marketing campaign led by Pacific activists and youth campaigners worldwide. The unprecedented participation of States, and broad consensus on local weather justice has reshaped what is feasible within the realm of worldwide legislation and the way it works in follow. On the coronary heart of this motion are Pacific youth and younger leaders, forging a path towards a extra inclusive, decolonial, and simply multilateral order.

The authorized readability that the ICJ ruling supplies should change into a catalyst for actual, tangible change: holding main polluters accountable, securing reparations for these harmed, and making certain the legislation protects all of humanity and the earth we share, for current and future generations. 

The ICJ’s local weather opinion may outline a brand new period—the place local weather justice isn’t a distant aspiration, however a worldwide mandate for the right here and now. The world can’t afford extra damaged guarantees. That is the second to make justice the legislation of the land. The trail to a livable, simply future runs by way of The Hague.