Countries can be sued by neighbours over climate inaction, top court finds
The International Court of Justice handed down the historic advisory ruling, paving the way for massive compensation claims in a case brought by a group of law students from Vanuatu.
In a case that drew unprecedented international involvement, including from 96 states and 11 international organisations, The Hague-based court's advisory opinion found countries were bound to uphold international treaties such as the Paris Agreement, and, more generally to prevent 'significant harm to the environment'.
'Failure of a State to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions — including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licences or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies — may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that State,' the ruling said.
Any breach of its obligations meant the country could be liable to pay 'full reparation to injured States in the form of restitution, compensation and satisfaction'.
Some countries argued before the court that the conduct of 'private actors' could not be attributed to them, but the court found nations were liable for the pollution emitted by industries by their failure to properly regulate.
Furthermore, it found that the direct cause of environmental damage did not necessarily have to be proved for a country to be liable.
Reading out the decision, Judge Iwasawa Yuji underscored the need for a collective response. 'Greenhouse gas emissions are unequivocally caused by human activities which are not territorially limited,' he said.
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