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ICJ to Clarify State Climate Duties and Polluter Liabilities

Vulnerable island nations and youth activists hope it will strengthen climate legislation and litigation despite its advisory nature.

University students and professors perform the Istisqa prayer, a special prayer in Islam performed to ask Allah for rain during times of drought, at the Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
A view of Lake Qaraoun, Lebanon's largest reservoir, which is experiencing drought, according to the Litani River National Authority, near the village of Qaraoun, Lebanon, on July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
A sea turtle nibbles on what remains of the once vibrant reef at Havannah Harbour, off the coast of Efate Island, Vanuatu, on Sunday, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)
What remains of the "Tree of Life" on Sunday, July 20, 2025, is visible off the coast of Efate Island, Vanuatu, after being toppled by cyclones in 2023 and further damaged by an earthquake in 2024. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Overview

  • More than 100 oral submissions during December’s hearings made this the largest case in ICJ history as it prepares its first advisory opinion on climate obligations.
  • The UN General Assembly asked the court to clarify states’ duties to prevent greenhouse gas pollution and outline consequences for those whose acts and omissions cause significant environmental harm.
  • Vulnerable low-lying nations and youth-led groups champion the opinion as a means to unify legal standards, drive ambitious national policies and strengthen climate litigation.
  • High-emitting countries including the United States and India argue existing UN frameworks, notably the Paris Agreement under the UNFCCC, are sufficient and resist new legal mandates.
  • Although advisory in nature, experts say the opinion will carry substantial moral and political influence, building on recent non-binding rulings by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.