ICJ delivers an unambiguous order on states’ responsibilities to halt climate change

In a much-awaited readout of its advisory opinion on climate change, the president of the International Court of Justice Iwasawa Yuji on July 23 spelt out in crystal-clear terms the legal and customary obligations of states under international law and climate treaties to ensure the planet survives the catastrophic impacts of climate change.

The opinion paved the way for states to be held accountable for fossil fuel emissions and the resultant climate harm. The order has been hailed by the Pacific Islands states especially, Vanuatu, which led the global demand for the opinion, as unprecedented and as going above all expectations.

The advisory opinion clearly mentioned that failure of states to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by continuing fossil fuel production, granting exploration licences or fossil fuel subsidies constituted an internationally wrongful act. States also have an obligation to regulate private actors as a matter of due diligence.

In relation to climate damage, the court held that in the event that restitution should prove to be materially impossible, responsible states have an obligation to compensate. Some states argued during the hearing in December that it was difficult to fix responsibility. But the court held that it was scientifically possible to determine the emissions contribution...

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