
Failing to protect planet from climate change ‘could violate international law'
'Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system… may constitute an internationally wrongful act,' court president Yuji Iwasawa said during the hearing.
He called the climate crisis 'an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet.'
The non-binding opinion, which runs to more than 500 pages, was hailed as a turning point in international climate law.
Notably, the court said a 'clean, healthy and sustainable environment' is a human right. That paves the way for other legal actions, including states returning to the ICJ to hold each other to account as well as domestic lawsuits, along with legal instruments such as investment agreements.
The case was led by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu and backed by more than 130 countries.
All UN member states including major greenhouse gas emitters such as the United States and China are parties to the court.
Climate activists had gathered outside the crowded court with a banner that read: 'Courts have spoken. The law is clear. States must act now.'
They watched the ruling on a giant screen, clapping and cheering at times during the two-hour hearing. When it was over, others emerged from the courtroom laughing and hugging.
'Today, the tables have turned. The world's highest court provided us with a powerful new tool to protect people from the devastating impacts of the climate crisis – and to deliver justice for the harm their emissions have already caused,' former UN human rights chief Mary Robinson said in a statement.
'The ICJ's decision brings us closer to a world where governments can no longer turn a blind eye to their legal responsibilities. It affirms a simple truth of climate justice: Those who did the least to fuel this crisis deserve protection, reparations and a future,' said Vishal Prasad, director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.
After years of lobbying by vulnerable island nations who fear they could disappear under rising sea waters, the UN General Assembly asked the ICJ in 2023 for an advisory opinion, an important basis for international obligations.
A panel of 15 judges was tasked with answering two questions: What are countries obliged to do under international law to protect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? Second, what are the legal consequences for governments when their acts, or lack of action, have significantly harmed the climate and environment?
'The stakes could not be higher. The survival of my people and so many others is on the line,' Arnold Kiel Loughman, attorney general of the island nation of Vanuatu, told the court during a week of hearings in December.
In the decade up to 2023, sea levels rose by a global average of around 4.3cm, with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3C since pre-industrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels.
'The agreements being made at an international level between states are not moving fast enough,' Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's minister for climate change, told the Associated Press.
Activists could bring lawsuits against their own countries for failing to comply with the decision.
'With today's authoritative historic ruling, the International Court of Justice has broken with business-as-usual and delivered a historic affirmation: Those suffering the impacts of climate devastation have a right to remedy and full reparation,' said Joie Chowdhury, a senior lawyer at the Centre for International Environmental Law.
The United States and Russia, both of whom are major petroleum-producing states, are staunchly opposed to the court mandating emissions reductions.
But those who cling to fossil fuels could go broke doing it, the UN secretary-general told the Associated Press in an exclusive interview this week.
Simply having the court issue an opinion is the latest in a series of legal victories for the small island nations.
Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that countries have a legal duty not only to avoid environmental harm but also to protect and restore ecosystems.
Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change.
In 2019, the Netherlands' Supreme court handed down the first major legal win for climate activists when judges ruled that protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change was a human right and that the government has a duty to protect its citizens.
The presiding judge on Wednesday acknowledged that international law had 'an important but ultimately limited role in resolving this problem', and said a lasting solution will need the contribution of all fields of human knowledge 'to secure a future for ourselves and those who are yet to come'.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
World Court climate opinion turns up the legal heat on governments
THE HAGUE, July 29 (Reuters) - A landmark opinion delivered by the United Nations' highest court last week that governments must protect the climate is already being cited in courtrooms, as lawyers say it strengthens the legal arguments in suits against countries and companies. The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, last Wednesday laid out the duty of states to limit harm from greenhouse gases and to regulate private industry. It said failure to reduce emissions could be an internationally wrongful act and, found that treaties such as the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change should be considered legally binding. While not specifically naming the United States, the court said countries that were not part of the United Nations climate treaty must still protect the climate as a matter of human rights law and customary international law. Only a day after the World Court opinion, lawyers for a windfarm distributed copies of it to the seven judges of the Irish Supreme Court on the final day of hearings on a case about whether planning permits for turbines should prioritise climate concerns over rural vistas. It is not clear when the Irish court will deliver its ruling. Lawyer Alan Roberts, for Coolglass Wind Farm, said the opinion would boost his client's argument that Ireland's climate obligations must be taken into account when considering domestic law. Although also not legally binding, the ICJ's opinion has legal weight, provided that national courts accept as a legal benchmark for their deliberations, which U.N. states typically do. The United States, where nearly two-thirds of all climate litigation cases are ongoing, is increasingly likely to be an exception as it has always been ambivalent about the significance of ICJ opinions for domestic courts. Compounding that, under U.S. President Donald Trump, the country has been tearing up all climate regulations. Not all U.S. states are sceptical about climate change, however, and lawyers said they still expected the opinion to be cited in U.S. cases. In Europe, where lawyers say the ICJ opinion is likely to have its greatest impact on upcoming climate cases, recent instances of governments respecting the court's rulings include Britain's decision late last year to reopen negotiations to return the Chagos Islands, opens new tab in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. That followed a 2019 ICJ opinion that London should cede control. Turning to environmental cases, in a Dutch civil case due to be heard in October - Bonaire versus The Netherlands - Greenpeace Netherlands and eight people from the Dutch territory of Bonaire, a low-lying island in the Caribbean, will argue that the Netherlands' climate plan is insufficient to protect the island against rising sea levels. The World Court said countries' national climate plans must be "stringent" and aligned to the Paris Agreement aim to limit warming to 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average. The court also said countries must take responsibility for a country's fair share of historical emissions. In hearings last December at the ICJ that led to last week's opinion, many wealthy countries, including Norway, Saudi Arabia, and The United States argued national climate plans were non-binding. "The court has said (...) that's not correct," said Lucy Maxwell, co-director of the Climate Litigation Network. In the Bonaire case, the Dutch government is arguing that having a climate plan is sufficient. The plaintiffs argue it would not meet the 1.5C threshold and the Netherlands must do its fair share to keep global warming below that, Louise Fournier, legal counsel for Greenpeace International, said. "This is definitely going to help there," Fournier said of the ICJ opinion in the Bonaire case. The ICJ opinion said climate change was an "urgent and existential threat," citing decades of peer-reviewed research, even as scepticism has mounted in some quarters, led by the United States. A document seen by Reuters shows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may question the research behind mainstream climate science and is poised to revoke its scientific determination that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. Jonathan Martel of the U.S. law firm Arnold and Porter represents industry clients on environmental issues. He raised the prospect of possible legal challenges to the EPA's regulatory changes given that an international court has treated the science of climate change as unequivocal and settled. "This might create a further obstacle for those who would advocate against regulatory action based on scientific uncertainty regarding the existence of climate change caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases," he said. The U.S. EPA changes would affect the agency's regulations on tailpipe emissions from vehicles that run on fossil fuel. Legal teams are reviewing the impact of the ruling on litigation against the companies that produce fossil fuel, as well as on the governments that regulate them. The World Court said that states could be held liable for the activities of private actors under their control, specifically mentioning the licensing and subsidising of fossil fuel production. Notre Affaire à Tous, a French NGO whose case against TotalEnergies is due to be heard in January 2026, expected the advisory opinion to strengthen its arguments. "This opinion will strongly reinforce our case because it mentions (...) that providing new licences to new oil and gas projects may be a constitutional and international wrongful act," said Paul Mougeolle, senior counsel for Notre Affaire à Tous. TotalEnergies did not respond to a request for comment.


The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
‘Worst-case famine scenario' unfolding as Starmer calls emergency cabinet meeting
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will convene an emergency cabinet meeting later to discuss a peace plan and aid for Gaza, where experts warn a famine is unfolding. A UN-backed food security body said recent developments, including Israel's tightening blockades, have 'dramatically worsened' conditions in Gaza, which has been on the brink of famine for two years. The 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out,' the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said. It comes after Donald Trump acknowledged 'real starvation ' in Gaza and pledged to set up food centres without 'fences'. He dismissed Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's claim that there was no starvation in Gaza and urged him to ensure aid reaches Palestinians. Local officials confirmed at least 14 more Palestinians, including two children, had died from hunger and malnutrition, bring the toll from starvation to 147, including 88 children. If you're just joining us: A UN-backed food security monitor this morning alerted that 'the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip' . The alert said famine thresholds have been met for most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a global authority providing criteria for famine but it is up to aid agencies and governments to officially declare famine. Israel's foreign minister denied accusations that it's withholding aid, saying it's a 'lie'. The death toll has now surpassed 60,000 in Gaza, according to the enclave's health ministry. In Scotland, Trump has said he's working with Israel's prime minister 'to try and get things straightened out'. Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 13:16 In pictures: Inside an aid package dropped from the sky over Gaza Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 13:00 ICYMI: Trump calls out 'real starvation' in Gaza US president Donald Trump said on Monday that he is 'not particularly convinced' by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that there is no starvation in Gaza, adding: 'Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.' Later, Trump asserted there was 'real starvation' in the territory, saying: 'You can't fake that', and pledged to set up 'food centres' in Gaza amid growing global outrage over the humanitarian crisis. Israel has denied widespread famine, calling the images of emaciated children misleading or isolated, but has begun daily 10-hour pauses in fighting to allow more aid to enter by land and air. Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:56 'I haven't eaten since yesterday, I worry about the baby I am carrying': pregnant mother in Nuseirat A mother of five and currently pregnant, Samah, 32, has not eaten since yesterday. 'No flour, no food, no water. I swear to God. The place we're in is destitute. 'I am pregnant, but I have not eaten anything since yesterday. I swear to God. The children and the elderly too. We have a diabetic family member, he had two surgeries, he is in need of food and water, and safety, but there is none. 'I do not worry about myself when it comes to eating and drinking water, I worry about the baby I'm carrying. I worry about securing diapers and formula milk for my baby. This is the biggest source of stress and pressure that I am experiencing as a mother. Now I am preparing diapers for the baby using rags because there are no diapers because a bag of diapers is being sold for 4 or 5 million shekels.' Samah is currently displaced in Nuseirat and travelled on foot to the CARE clinic, which provides children, pregnant and breastfeeding women with malnutrition screening and supplements. 'I used to pray every day that things will get better and that food, water, formula milk and diapers for the children would get in,' she told CARE. 'After an airstrike hit really close to the place we were in, we said we do not want food, we just want an end to the bloodshed and an end to this war, because mentally we are destroyed.' Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:30 Trump says he's 'straightening things out' with Netanyahu US President Donald Trump has said he's 'working to get things straightened out' with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking to reporters in Scotland, Trump's comments follow his meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday. Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:24 'Safe spaces are becoming virtually non-existent': IPC The latest IPC report on Gaza on a worst-case famine scenario unfolding in Gaza has also found that safe spaces in the besieged enclave are shrinking. 'Safe spaces are becoming virtually non-existent,' the latest IPC report found. 'The population is increasingly confined to ever-shrinking areas not designated as military zones or subject to displacement orders - primarily in Gaza City and the middle governorates.' Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:11 UN agencies renew calls for unconditional aid deliveries UN agencies have issued a joint response to today's famine alert by the UN-backed IPC food security body, highlighting the desperate need for action in Gaza. 'Emaciated children and babies are dying from malnutrition in Gaza,' the UN's agency for the welfare of children said. Unicef chief Catherine Russell called for 'immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access across Gaza' to scale up food, water and medical deliveries. 'Without that, mothers and fathers will continue to face a parent's worst nightmare, powerless to save a starving child from a condition we are able to prevent.' The World Food Programme's executive director said waiting for the official IPC confirmation of famine to provide aid is 'unconscionable'. 'The longer we wait to act, the higher the death toll will rise,' Cindy McCain said. Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 12:00 Young mother struggles to breastfeed 11-month old son in Deir Al-Balah Noura, 27, carefully cradled her 11-month toddler while waiting in line to get him screened for malnutrition at CARE's primary healthcare centre in Deir Al-Balah. He has already missed some of his developmental milestones like crawling and teething. 'My son is supposed to be drinking formula milk, but there is none to offer. I give him an empty feeding bottle just to distract him,' Noura told CARE. 'I am barely able to breastfeed him, my milk has almost dried up because I'm also not eating well.' Steffie Banatvala29 July 2025 11:30 Analysis: Peter Kyle's comments opposing Palestinian state recognition are more about cabinet splits The tech secretary Peter Kyle was very strong this morning in his opposition to recognising Palestinian statehood. He warned against 'rewarding Hamas' for its 7 October attacks and made his opposition very clear over a change of policy. But these comments were less about government policy and more about cabinet splits. Mr Kyle is one of a group of cabinet ministers including chancellor Rachel Reeves and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden who were previously senior officers in Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), a very influential group in the party. They played a major role with LFI in tackling the antisemitism on the party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and restoring trust with Jews. But like LFI now they do not want the Oslo Accords ripped up with premature recognition of a Palestinian state. They want it to be part of a lengthy peace process towards a two state solution. Across the floor on this are cabinet ministers such as deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and justice secretary Shabana Mahmood who want the UK to recognise a Palestinian state now. David Maddox, political editor29 July 2025 11:29 Tory ex-foreign ministers leave Kemi Badenoch isolated on Palestine Tobias Ellwood, the last Tory foreign minister to lead a debate against early recognition of a Palestinian state, has written for The Independent today explaining why he has changed his mind. It comes as another respected Tory former foreign minister Alistair Burt has also broken ranks with his party this morning saying now is the time to recognise Palestine as a state. The interventions are a major embarrassment for the current Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who over the weekend doubled down on her opposition to the move. In his piece Mr Ellwood argued that recognising Palestine as a state now may be the only way to save the prospects of a two-state solution. He said: 'Waiting endlessly for the 'perfect moment' is not a strategy. The current status quo, or the pursuit of a one-state solution, will only entrench a perpetual insurgency, fuelled externally and leaving Israel in a state of permanent tensions with its neighbours.' The issue is just the latest example of a divide between centrist Tories and the increasingly strident right-wing leadership of Ms Badenoch. Why I've changed my mind about a state of Palestine David Maddox, political editor29 July 2025 11:16


The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
First group of Syrian refugees returns home from Lebanon under new UN plan
The first group of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon on Tuesday under a new plan the United Nations developed with the Lebanese government following the downfall of Bashar Assad 's rule in December. Syria's uprising-turned-conflict displaced half of the country's pre-war population of 23 million over the last 14 years. Lebanon hosted an estimated 1.5 million refugees, at one point making up roughly a quarter of its six million people, with many having been smuggled across the border and unregistered with the UN. The new plan has the UN refugee agency offering $100 in cash to each repatriated Syrian refugee and the Lebanese authorities waiving any fees or fines they owe. The UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration will provide them with buses for their return journey. The UNHCR also says it will help returning Syrians with "cash grants, legal assistance for civil documents, psychosocial support, livelihood opportunities, and other protection services.' The strain on Lebanon as poverty spreads Lebanese authorities have repeatedly requested the repatriation of Syrian refugees over the years, a call that grew louder with the widespread poverty in the Mediterranean country and shrinking funding for aid agencies. But Syria under Assad was not yet safe for their return, according to major rights organizations. Many Syrians had also previously said the war, forced conscription under Syria's former government, and unpaid residency fines in Lebanon have held them back from returning. But Syria now has a new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the surprise offensive that ousted Assad, and the Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's government hopes Syrians will sign up for the joint repatriation plan. The UNHCR estimates that over 205,000 Syrians have crossed back into the country from Lebanon since December, of which at least 126,000 were confirmed to be full returns, said Abou Khaled. Thousands of Syrian refugees are ready to return home UNHCR Lebanon spokesperson Lisa Abou Khaled says about 17,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon have already signed up to go back to their home country, though the vast majority have opted not to take the buses. Tuesday's repatriation was a 'test run,' she said, with only 72 people, mostly going to Syria's third-largest city of Homs and rural Damascus. Syrian border authorities greeted the returning refugees with roses and water bottles, as they filled out forms after exiting the bus. Some took pictures in front of Syria's new green flag. Among them was Rasha, who told The Associated Press she was elated to return for the first time in 14 years. 'We're going home with nothing, but it's easier than having to keep paying rent,' she said, using only her first name. She and her husband are heading to Homs. Before, she wouldn't leave because her sons were at the age of conscription, which she described as 'sending your son to his death." They also couldn't afford to pay all the fines for overstaying in Lebanon for 14 years. Raghad fled to Lebanon when she was 10 years old after her father was killed in Homs, and is returning for the first time to her family home with her siblings and their children. 'We're hoping to fix it so we can live there for a bit," she said. 'I can't imagine myself living there without Dad." A humanitarian crisis still exists in Syria Despite Washington lifting decades-long sanctions, Syria is still reeling from an economic crisis that has pulled the vast majority of its population into poverty. It's still also trying to rebuild hundreds of billions of dollars in battered infrastructure after the conflict. Abou Khaled, the UNHCR Lebanon spokesperson, warns that this might hinder long-term returns if not resolved soon. 'We must acknowledge that there is a real humanitarian crisis in Syria that remains very significant,' she explained. 'Millions of people will need urgent help to be able to return in a sustainable way.' — Chehayeb reported from Beirut.