In landmark opinion, UN court says climate change an ‘existential threat’

ICJ Judge Yuji Iwasawa says greenhouse emissions are ‘unequivocally caused by human activities’ as he delivers opinion.

The United Nations’ highest court has said that countries must meet their climate obligations – and that failing to do so could violate international law, potentially opening the door for affected nations to seek reparations in future legal cases.

In a groundbreaking advisory opinion delivered at the Peace Palace in The Hague on Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said states must act urgently to address the “existential threat” of climate change by cooperating to cut emissions, following through on global climate agreements, and protecting vulnerable populations and ecosystems from harm.

Reading the opinion, ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said that greenhouse gas emissions are “unequivocally caused by human activities” and have cross-border effects.

“Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system … may constitute an internationally wrongful act,” Iwasawa said. He called the climate crisis “an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet”.

Notably, the court said a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right. That paves the way for other legal actions, including states returning to the ICJ to hold each other to account as well as domestic lawsuits.