In response to a request from the UN General Assembly, on 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark Advisory Opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change. The world’s highest court confirmed that climate action is a legal duty: All States must act to prevent significant climate harm with stringent due diligence in line with equity—respecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC)—and do so cooperatively, protecting the human rights of current and future generations. The Court recognised that its Advisory Opinion concerns “an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet. ” In clarifying the law, this ruling acts as a guidepost. It provides a powerful tool for negotiators to ensure climate justice and raise climate ambition at the climate talks (COP30) in November 2025.
Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN), Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ), and Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)’s “Leveraging the ICJ Climate Ruling at COP30 to Unlock Ambition and Advance Accountability: A Pocket Guide for Negotiators and Allies” unpacks how the ICJ climate ruling can and should shape negotiations, especially in relation to finance, climate science, mitigation and adaptation, loss and damage, just transition, climate national plans (NDCs), human rights, Indigenous Peoples, gender and corporate capture and UNFCCC reform.
Published on November 7, 2025