THE HAGUE, December 2, 2024 — Over 100 countries and international organizations will deliver their arguments on States responsibilities for climate change under international law during the International Court of Justice (ICJ) climate hearings between December 2-13. The Court’s advisory opinion will provide clarity on the legal duties of nations to safeguard people and the planet – offering a decisive moment for global climate action.
Vishal Prasad, Director at Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), said:
“We are preparing for an unprecedented moment as the World Court prepares to hear from countries on their obligations to address climate change. This is a moment where we are looking to ensure that states bring the progressive arguments that are centered on human rights, Indigenous People’s rights, intergenerational justice, the lived realities of frontline communities, and on the need for urgent climate justice. With these submissions, we can build a basis for a strong, robust opinion that can help unlock climate action and help us urgently course-correct.”
Youth and Indigenous groups will be in the Hague to ensure that their messages are heard by the Court. Throughout the hearings, civil society and members of the public will join in the Court in solidarity for climate justice, organising events for frontline communities to come together and call for the urgent need for accountability for the climate crisis.
The resulting advisory opinion has the potential to address some of the key contested climate issues, including countries’ obligation to address climate change (for example, by rapidly cutting emissions), as well as potential remedies for communities affected by climate harms. Based on countries’ arguments, the ICJ will deliver an advisory opinion clarifying the legal obligations countries bear to limit harmful activities and support vulnerable communities. In doing so, the Court will provide critical legal clarity with the potential to push countries to deliver more climate action.
The final ICJ advisory opinion, expected in 2025, is the result of years of campaigning led by the government of Vanuatu, the Pacific islands, and youth worldwide. The ICJ’s efforts to clarify the responsibilities of nations under international law could be a game-changer for climate litigation, catalyze climate action, and finally hold polluters accountable.
Ahead of the hearings, civil society, youth, and Indigenous Peoples released the following statements:
Nikki Reisch, Director of Climate and Energy Program, Center for International Environmental Law:
“On the heels of a devastatingly unjust outcome at this year’s UN climate talks, the ICJ climate advisory proceedings offer a critical opportunity to set the record straight: countries cannot negotiate their way out of the law. The wealthiest historical emitters continue to deny, dilute, and avoid their legal duties to pay up for the climate crisis they’ve caused and phase out the fossil fuels driving it. But the world’s highest court can make clear that taking overdue climate action and remedying mounting climate harm is not merely a moral imperative, it’s a legal obligation.
States’ long-standing duties to prevent transboundary environmental harm and human rights violations, including from climate change, did not begin with the UNFCCC or the Paris Agreement, and they do not end with any COP deal. The ICJ can and must make clear that when States breach their climate obligations, and harm ensues — as it so evidently has — they must right the wrongs. The Court’s opinion could prove a much-needed antidote to political inertia and a critical foundation for legal accountability.”
Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:
“What started in the Pacific is now a historic climate justice campaign, as the world’s most urgent problem of climate change reaches the world’s highest court. The next two weeks of hearings are the culmination of years of collective campaigning, powerful advocacy, and mobilizing the world behind this landmark campaign to ensure the human rights of current and future generations are protected from climate destruction and the biggest emitters are held accountable. It is a pivotal moment that centers the voices of the most climate-impacted communities from across the world.
Coming together in The Hague, we have the opportunity to present before the Court the testimonies and resistance of frontline communities and elevate their demands for radical action and justice. The ICJ judges have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the course of history; we urge them to make this moment count.”
Jule Schnakenberg, Interim Executive Officer, World’s Youth for Climate Justice:
“It was the power of young people and civil society organizations from the Pacific and across the World who initiated and fuelled these historic climate justice proceedings. While standing on the shoulders of giants who have come before us, it is people power that was instrumental in pushing for more climate action inside and outside of courtrooms. With international diplomatic processes like the UNFCCC COPs not delivering fast and fair enough, the global community is turning to the World Court to break the deadlock on climate justice.
We have been working with legal teams across the world to push for progressive arguments considerate of intergenerational equity, the rights of future generations, and climate justice principles. And now, finally, the communities who powered this campaign on a national and regional level get their days in court. As a youth movement, we stand ready to make sure that these hearings reach the communities most affected by the climate crisis, so that it can become a collective tool for more ambition, equity and action.“
Media Contacts:
Rossella Recupero, Communications Campaign Specialist, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) | + 41 76 216 5976 (Signal), +39 340 47 39 827 (WhatsApp), press@ciel.org. Rossella will be in The Hague from November 29 to December 5.
Picture: © Emiel Hornman / Greenpeace