"Era of Climate Impunity is Over"

The world’s highest court rules that if governments fail to curb emissions, approve new fossil fuel projects, and roll out public money for oil and gas, then they could be in breach of international law.

University of the South Pacific - where it all started in 2019

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, has declared that a safe climate is a human right and a legal duty, publishing a landmark legal decision that paves the way for polluting nations to be sued for their emissions. The ruling is described as “a once-in-a-generation moment” for climate justice. “The era of climate impunity is over,” the Center for International Environmental Law said in a statement, adding that the ruling “sets a new global standard for urgent action and accountability on climate justice.”

It will be seen as a victory for countries that are very vulnerable to climate change, who came to court after feeling frustrated about lack of global progress in tackling the problem, reports BBC News. Noting that the judge at the ICJ also said that untangling who caused which part of climate change could be difficult.

The case was brought to the ICJ by law students and activists in the low-lying Pacific nation Vanuatu. During their final year at law school in 2019, Solomon Yeo and his classmates set their minds to saving the world. The legal students, who were studying at the University of South Pacific in Vanuatu, all hailed from Pacific island countries that are among the most vulnerable in the world to the climate crisis. The idea the students came up with was to change international law by getting the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the climate crisis. Namely, to recognise climate harm in international law. This they have now achieved.

Though the court’s ruling is non-binding, meaning it does not create a legally enforceable obligation, experts said it would still have major consequences.

Lea Main-Klingst, a lawyer at Client Earth, said: “The age of producing and bankrolling fossil fuels with abandon is over. This new-found clarity will equip judges with definitive guidance that will likely shape climate cases for decades to come. It’s now up to civil society and legal advocates everywhere to pick up this new tool and use it.”