In a historic ruling on Wednesday, 23rd July, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared that states failing to take adequate action to combat climate change could be in violation of international law. The court further affirmed that nations suffering from the effects of global warming may be entitled to reparations, in a move hailed as a major advance for global climate justice.
The advisory opinion, requested by the United Nations General Assembly in 2023 and championed by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, asserts that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right. The opinion carries significant legal and moral weight and could pave the way for future litigation at both international and domestic levels.
“Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system … may constitute an internationally wrongful act,” ICJ President Judge Yuji Iwasawa stated. He underscored the urgency of the climate crisis, describing it as “an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet.”
The case was backed by more than 130 countries, including small island developing states particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Among them was Vanuatu, whose Attorney General Arnold Kiel Loughman had warned during court hearings in December 2024 that “the stakes could not be higher,” citing the very survival of his people.
Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change, called the ICJ’s opinion a “very important course correction in this critically important time,” and noted that for the first time, the world’s highest court had spoken directly about the greatest threat facing humanity.
The ruling opens the door for affected states and climate activists to hold major polluters accountable, either through renewed legal action at the ICJ or within their national courts. It may also strengthen international environmental agreements and be used as leverage at upcoming diplomatic gatherings, including COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
Erika Lennon, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, said, “States must take this ICJ ruling and use it to advance ambitious outcomes at COP30 and beyond. People and the planet deserve it.”
Climate justice advocates welcomed the court’s recognition that vulnerable populations, who contributed least to climate change, are entitled to protection and redress. “Today, the tables have turned,” said Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “The world’s highest court provided us with a powerful new tool to protect people from the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.”
Vishal Prasad, director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, echoed the sentiment: “This affirms a simple truth of climate justice: Those who did the least to fuel this crisis deserve protection, reparations, and a future.”
The advisory opinion was the result of years of lobbying by small island nations. It builds on a growing body of climate-related legal precedent. Earlier in July, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that states must actively protect and restore ecosystems. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights found that governments must do more to shield citizens from climate impacts. And in 2019, the Netherlands’ Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking decision declaring climate protection a human right.
Despite opposition from major fossil fuel-producing nations like the United States and Russia, the ICJ’s ruling is expected to increase pressure on governments to comply with climate commitments. UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned that countries persisting with fossil fuel dependency risk economic ruin, reinforcing the global imperative for rapid transition.
While the ICJ’s opinion is non-binding, it significantly elevates the legal standing of climate obligations under international law. As Judge Iwasawa noted, international law alone cannot solve the crisis, but it plays a vital role. “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.”
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