AO Alliance Press release: Global South Shows the Way As Historic Climate Justice Hearings Close at World’s Highest Court
THE HAGUE, December 12, 2024 —The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has just concluded its historic hearings on states' legal responsibilities for climate change. A record number of nearly 100 countries and international organizations were heard during the past two weeks. The Court's final advisory opinion, due in 2025, has the potential to significantly push forward global efforts to combat climate change.
Vishal Prasad, Director at Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), said:
“I’ve never been prouder to be a Pacific Islander. We have witnessed over the past two weeks that despite facing severe resource constraints and bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, Global South nations possess not only moral clarity but also crucial solutions to the climate crisis. It is abundantly clear that polluting states must be held accountable for the harm they have inflicted and continue to inflict upon communities and the planet.
The court has heard loud and clear from the majority of countries that polluters are violating our human rights, and that there must be consequences for that. They must understand that climate action isn’t voluntary - it's a legally binding obligation.”
Rallying behind the leadership of Pacific Small Islands States and Global South, the majority of nations argued that the climate crisis is undeniably a human rights crisis. They emphasized the legal basis for climate reparations commensurate with the scale of climate harms. Furthermore, these nations forcefully countered arguments from major polluters that sought to narrowly confine their obligations to just the climate regime, thereby attempting to evade their responsibilities under other international legal frameworks, such as human rights, the law of the sea and customary law.
Jule Schnakenberg, World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ), added:
“The legal clarity has already emerged from the statements of Global South countries the past two weeks. The Paris Agreement and global climate talks simply aren’t delivering the pace of change needed to both reduce the carbon pollution from fossil fuels damaging our communities nor unlocking the finance needed to help communities adapt and to compensate for the loss and damage they have already experienced. Based on the compelling evidence presented over the past two weeks by climate vulnerable countries, we anticipate a robust advisory opinion from the Court that will revitalize climate negotiations and empower negotiators with the full force of international law.”
Throughout the hearings, civil society groups from around the world mobilized in solidarity for climate justice. Today, they presented crucial evidence to the Court. Over the past two weeks, they have organized events to unite frontline communities and amplify urgent calls for accountability for climate harms.
Nikki Reisch, Director of the Climate and Energy Program, Center for International Environmental Law said:
"The climate hearings at the ICJ have been a watershed moment for climate accountability. Their impact can be felt already – even before the opinion is out. Rallying behind the leadership of Pacific Islands and youth movements worldwide, a growing global movement is uniting across generations and nations to demand that major polluters pay for the harm they’ve caused and that States take urgent action to secure a livable, just future for all. The groundswell of demand for climate justice that brought this issue to the Court will only grow stronger as the stakes get higher.”
ENDS
Note to Editors:
The ICJ is one of three international tribunals that were asked to issue guidance on states’ legal obligations to address climate change. In May 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered the first-ever advisory opinion on climate from an international court, stating that to protect oceans, countries must cut greenhouse gas emissions. The opinion sets the bar for future court judgments and policy decisions on climate action. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is also working on a forthcoming advisory opinion on climate, following public hearings held earlier this year in Barbados and Brazil.
Media Contacts:
Dorka Bauer, Climate Litigation Lead, Global Strategic Communications Council | +491786815087 | dorka.bauer@gsccnetwork.org.
Rossella Recupero, Communications Campaign Specialist, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) |+ 41 76 216 5976 (Signal), +39 340 47 39 827 (WhatsApp), press@ciel.org.