World Court says ‘clean environment’ is a human right, inaction may violate international law
The more than 500-page non-binding opinion from the UN’s highest court is seen as a potential turning point in international climate law
The United Nations’ top court announced on Wednesday that if countries fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change, they could be in violation of international law.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, was delivering an advisory opinion in a landmark case about nations’ obligations to tackle climate change and the consequences they may face if they don’t, calling it an “urgent and existential” threat to humanity.
“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.
The non-binding opinion, which runs for more than 500 pages, is seen as a potential turning point in international climate law.
The court also said a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” was a human right. Enshrining a sustainable environment as a human right 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 like investment agreements.
The case is led by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu and backed by more than 130 countries.