The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently considering an Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, having been formally requested to do so by the UN General Assembly in March 2023.
The ICJ has the mandate to consider the most up-to-date scientific information regarding the impacts on ecosystems of anthropogenic (human-made) emissions of greenhouse gases, and to consider the full range of applicable law in order to protect ecosystems for current and future generations. In this respect, the obligations of States that the ICJ will affirm are likely to extend far beyond the Framework Convention on Climate Change and current government actions to protect the climate which are woefully inadequate.
The initiative to take climate change to the ICJ was initiated by students and youth in the Pacific Islands – whose countries are already starting to disappear under rising seas – and grew into a global campaign led by World’s Youth for Climate Justice.
The UN General Assembly Resolution formally requesting the ICJ to consider the obligations of States with regard to climate change was led by Vanuatu in cooperation with 17 other like-minded States. It was adopted without opposition.
The public hearings for the case took place over the first two weeks of December, 2024. 96 States and 11 international organizations made presentations, the most for any case in the history of court.
Once the ICJ renders its decision, the campaign will move into the next phase – implementation of the decision by UN bodies, national governments, the private sector and others.