Climate Change: UN assembly asks International Court to advance climate justice

New Delhi: The UN General Assembly on 29 March 2023 adopted by consensus a resolution requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States in respect of climate change, with most speakers hailing the move as a “milestone in their decades-long struggle for climate justice.”

On the former text titled, “Request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States in respect of climate change”, the Assembly decided to request the Court to render an opinion on the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.

The text further requested the Court’s opinion on the legal consequences under obligations for States where they, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system concerning States, particularly small island developing States, and people of present and future generations.

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, recalled that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years.

That body’s report also showed that limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C is achievable, but “the window is rapidly closing,” he warned, adding: “Those that contributed least to the climate crisis are already facing both climate hell and high water”. For some countries, climate threats are a death sentence.

Human Rights Watch calls it a milestone in defining the human rights obligations of governments. “The General Assembly resolution advances the goal of setting out concrete climate change obligations of all governments,” said Richard Pearshouse, Environment and Human Rights director at Human Rights Watch.

“The resolution is a powerful demonstration of effective multilateral diplomacy led by a state from the Global South on behalf of people at risk”, Human Rights Watch said. “The global effort to adopt the resolution provides a model for protecting human rights on climate change issues in the UN and other international forums”.

Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International’s Director of Climate, Economic and Social Justice, and Corporate Accountability Programme, said: “This is a landmark moment in the fight for climate justice as it is likely to provide clarity on how existing international law, especially human rights, and environmental legislation, can be applied to strengthen action on climate change. This will help mitigate the causes and consequences of the damage done to the climate and ultimately protect people and the environment globally.”

The resolution was initiated by Vanuatu, a South Pacific Island state whose existence is at risk from climate change. Nearly 20 countries worldwide, most of them small, actively championed the resolution in a global demonstration underlining the urgency of the climate crisis.

In 2021, Vanuatu announced its intention to seek an ICJ advisory opinion. Since then, Vanuatu built a core group of 18 countries to join its bid, including Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Germany, Liechtenstein, Federated States of Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Uganda, and Vietnam. By the time of adoption, the cross-regional core group secured more than 130 states as co-sponsors of the resolution. More than 1,700 civil society groups across 130 countries endorsed the resolution.

The General Assembly will now submit its request to the ICJ through a formal resolution. Though the ICJ’s advisory opinions are nonbinding, they can carry great moral and legal authority and ultimately become part of customary international law, which is legally binding on states.

The Assembly decided to request the Court to render an opinion on the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.

The text further requested the Court’s opinion on the legal consequences under obligations for States where they, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system concerning States, particularly small island developing States, and people of present and future generations.

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, recalled that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years.

That body’s report also showed that limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C is achievable, but “the window is rapidly closing,” he warned, adding: “Those that contributed least to the climate crisis are already facing both climate hell and high water”. For some countries, climate threats are a death sentence.

Human Rights Watch calls it a milestone in defining the human rights obligations of governments. “The General Assembly resolution advances the goal of setting out concrete climate change obligations of all governments,” said Richard Pearshouse, Environment and Human Rights director at Human Rights Watch.

“The resolution is a powerful demonstration of effective multilateral diplomacy led by a state from the Global South on behalf of people at risk”, Human Rights Watch said. “The global effort to adopt the resolution provides a model for protecting human rights on climate change issues in the UN and other international forums”.

Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International’s Director of Climate, Economic and Social Justice, and Corporate Accountability Programme, said: “This is a landmark moment in the fight for climate justice as it is likely to provide clarity on how existing international law, especially human rights, and environmental legislation, can be applied to strengthen action on climate change. This will help mitigate the causes and consequences of the damage done to the climate and ultimately protect people and the environment globally.”

The resolution was initiated by Vanuatu, a South Pacific Island state whose existence is at risk from climate change. Nearly 20 countries worldwide, most of them small, actively championed the resolution in a global demonstration underlining the urgency of the climate crisis.

In 2021, Vanuatu announced its intention to seek an ICJ advisory opinion. Since then, Vanuatu built a core group of 18 countries to join its bid, including Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Germany, Liechtenstein, Federated States of Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Uganda, and Vietnam. By the time of adoption, the cross-regional core group secured more than 130 states as co-sponsors of the resolution. More than 1,700 civil society groups across 130 countries endorsed the resolution.

The General Assembly will now submit its request to the ICJ through a formal resolution. Though the ICJ’s advisory opinions are nonbinding, they can carry great moral and legal authority and ultimately become part of customary international law, which is legally binding on states.