logo
World's major courts take growing role in climate fight

World's major courts take growing role in climate fight

IOL News5 days ago
Almost 3,000 climate cases have been filed up to the end of 2024, in nearly 60 countries, according to the Grantham Research Institute, using data compiled by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
Image: ImsoGabriel Stock via Pixabay
The world's top court is poised to tell governments what their legal obligations are to tackle global warming, and possibly outline consequences for polluters that cause climate harm to vulnerable countries.
Wednesday's highly anticipated advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice comes in the wake of landmark international decisions that experts say together have the potential to significantly shape climate action. How has climate litigation evolved?
Andrew Raine, deputy director of the UN Environment Programme's law division, said frustration over the pace of climate action had spurred people, organisations and countries to turn to the courts.
"When political systems fall short, the law is increasingly seen as a tool for driving ambition and enforcing commitments that have been made," he told AFP.
These have been bolstered by increasingly precise and detailed climate science, including from the UN's IPCC climate expert panel.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Almost 3,000 climate cases have been filed up to the end of 2024, in nearly 60 countries, according to the Grantham Research Institute, using data compiled by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
While not all have been successful -- and some have tried to slow climate progress -- there have been notable cases in recent years that have pushed states to do more.
Urgenda, an environmental organisation in the Netherlands, notched a win at the Dutch Supreme Court in 2019, with justices ordering the government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by the end of the following year.
And in 2021, the German Constitutional Court found that the government's failure to sufficiently cut planet-heating pollution placed an unacceptable burden on future generations.
Raine said that litigation was increasingly crossing borders, with 24 cases brought before international or regional courts, tribunals or other bodies.
"This marks a turning point and it reflects the transboundary and shared nature of the climate crisis," he said.
Why have recent cases been deemed historic?
Two in particular have been hailed as watershed moments that will help shape how courts, governments and businesses understand and act on their climate responsibilities.
Last year, an advisory opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea said carbon emissions can be considered a marine pollutant and that countries have a legal duty to take measures to reduce their effects on oceans.
The tribunal made clear that the work of defining countries' obligations is not limited to the Paris climate agreement or the UN body that runs climate change negotiations.
Major polluters have argued that the UN framework is sufficient and against courts taking climate decisions.
Another major advisory opinion was issued this month, with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights reaffirming the right to a healthy climate system and acknowledging the rights of nature.
But perhaps the court's most profound statement was to place protection against irreversible climate harms on the same level as international prohibitions on genocide and torture, said Cesar Rodriguez-Garavito, Professor of Law and Director of the Climate Law Accelerator at New York University.
The court said "massive and serious harm to the climate system through emissions, through deforestation and so on, is absolutely forbidden by international law," he said.
In his view this made it the strongest statement yet by any international court on states' duty to avoid causing severe ecological destruction.
All eyes are now on the ICJ. What could be the impact?
Vanuatu, one of many low-lying islands threatened by sea level rise, has asked the ICJ to give its opinion on states' obligations to reduce emissions.
But the potentially more controversial request is what -- if any -- legal consequences there might be for major polluters who cause severe climate damages.
"These are questions of global justice," said Rodriguez-Garavito, potentially touching on contentious issues of "reparations for climate harms" to those least responsible for emissions.
While advisory opinions like the ICJ are not legally enforceable, Raine said they carry significant weight.
"They clarify how international law applies to the climate crisis, and that has ripple effects across national courts, legislative processes and public debates," he said.
"It doesn't force states to act, but it shows them where the law stands and where they should be headed."
AFP
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US tariffs threaten local jobs, but we can still be competitive
US tariffs threaten local jobs, but we can still be competitive

IOL News

time36 minutes ago

  • IOL News

US tariffs threaten local jobs, but we can still be competitive

South Africa will be hit with a 30% tariff on all its exports to the United States from August 1, following a formal letter from US President Donald Trump to President Cyril Ramaphosa demanding action on trade imbalances and long-standing market restrictions. Image: Lee Rondganger/IOL As global trade tensions rise and the possible 30% US tariff could make international markets more volatile, local enterprises in Ekurhuleni can protect local jobs by being globally competitive and regionally focused. South Africa's export sectors, and especially mining and related services, will potentially lose competitiveness in the US should the 30% tariff on South African goods take effect on August 1. When South African goods become more expensive overseas due to a tariff, there is a decrease in demand for our goods. This hits exporters first, and the ripple effects land hard at home. Ekurhuleni is especially at risk – our metropole is the industrial heart of South Africa, with heavy engineering, metal manufacturing, the automotive industry and other similar industries driving local jobs and income. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ But rather than retreat, companies based right here in Ekurhuleni can adapt and diversify where possible. Local companies are aware of this threat and are planning their responses. As a local company, we are doing all we can to ensure we continue to deliver on our North American contracts, but also to ensure that we continue to develop avenues into other markets, including the rest of Africa. The foundry has been a vital part of Benoni since its founding in 1937. In such a long time, we have weathered many international storms. With such a long history in Ekurhuleni, our company also knows how valuable jobs and employment are to our community. In times of great volatility, our people-first approach has been a stabilising force, ensuring that workers are supported, retained, and empowered. That's why we must support industrial exporters in our region, from local city councillors to the national government. When we buy local, invest local, and push government to create trade conditions that protect our industries, we help keep factories open and workers employed. In a city built on manufacturing muscle and engineering skill, the fight for fair trade is the fight for our future. We cannot afford to let international tariffs silently steal jobs from our communities. We must recognise, support, and champion the companies that are holding the line. Because the cost of doing nothing is not measured in lost profits, it is measured in lost livelihoods. William Price Ekurhuleni

Economic Freedom Fighters: Celebrating twelve years of radical transformation in South Africa
Economic Freedom Fighters: Celebrating twelve years of radical transformation in South Africa

IOL News

time4 hours ago

  • IOL News

Economic Freedom Fighters: Celebrating twelve years of radical transformation in South Africa

Thousands of supporters filled the dome, which holds 10,000 people, demonstrating the massive turnout for the EFF's 12th anniversary celebrations. Image: Mandilakhe Tshwete Twelve years ago, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) burst onto South Africa's political landscape with a promise to transform the country's economic and social order. Founded by Julius Malema and his comrades on July 26, 2013, the party emerged from a deep frustration with the slow pace of change since democracy and the persistence of poverty, inequality, and racial divisions. Their rallying cry was clear: radical economic transformation, land expropriation without compensation, nationalisation of mines and banks, and the eradication of poverty. Economic Freedom Fighters founder and president Julius Malema gives his speech at the 12th anniversary in Khayelitsha. Image: Mandilakhe Tshwete Speaking at the EFF's 12th anniversary celebrations, Malema painted a vivid picture of how those founding principles remain as urgent today as ever. He reminded the crowd of Khayelitsha's history, founded in 1983 under apartheid as a relocation site for Black people forcibly removed from Cape Town. Despite decades of democracy, Khayelitsha still bears the scars of spatial apartheid: poor infrastructure, inadequate housing, unreliable water, and limited public transport. For many residents, these conditions have become normalised. Malema did not hold back in his criticism of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the party governing the Western Cape. He accused the DA of being a party that protects white privilege and sustains inequality by neglecting townships like Khayelitsha. While affluent suburbs such as Constantia and Clifton enjoy well-maintained roads and services, places like Gugulethu and Nyanga continue to suffer from neglect, overcrowded clinics, and dangerous streets plagued by gang violence. He added that the DA's failure to extend services such as the MyCiTi bus into these areas was described as deliberate exclusion. 'Spatial apartheid continues under their watch,' Malema said, framing the DA's governance as a continuation of apartheid-era divisions. He argued that the DA prioritises the comfort of the elite over the dignity and well-being of the poor majority. The party, he claimed, has no genuine interest in addressing poverty or unemployment, problems that affect over 43% of South Africans and hit the youth hardest. Malema also spoke about the broader economic challenges facing the country, saying that while other nations on the continent experience growth, South Africa's economy is stagnating. He criticised the control that white-owned banks and financial institutions hold over the economy, dictating who can access loans and property, and keeping wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. "At the same time, key state-owned enterprises are being weakened by defunding and attempts to privatise through outsourcing or fragmenting services." He pointed to the gradual dismantling of institutions like Eskom and Transnet, warning that the consequences are dire for the country's development and job creation. The looming debt crisis, with government spending over R420 billion this year just on interest payments, was described as a ticking time bomb that threatens social services such as education, health, and policing. To counter this, the EFF plans to push for laws requiring parliamentary approval of loans from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The party rejects neoliberal economic policies imposed by these institutions, arguing instead for a state-led developmental model focused on industrialisation and wealth redistribution. The EFF's rise from a small, radical movement into a force that commands respect across South Africa's political spectrum is no accident. Malema stressed that the party has remained true to its revolutionary principles, refusing to become co-opted by establishment politics or elite interests. The EFF's activism spans beyond Parliament, engaging directly with communities through land occupations, supporting workers' rights, and fighting gender-based violence. However, the party's growing influence has unsettled the political establishment. Malema recounted how even international figures have taken notice, including a visit to the White House where former US President Donald Trump played EFF songs 'Kill the boer' as a warning, which he repeatedly sang after concluding his speech. He criticised both the ANC and DA for forming uneasy coalitions motivated by fear of the EFF's growing power. In a pointed attack, Malema said the ANC has become riddled with corruption and tenderpreneurship, while the DA serves to protect white monopoly capital. Yet, both parties are united in their efforts to block the EFF from gaining control in any government. On crime and policing, the EFF expressed support for Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who raised allegations of corruption and criminal syndicates operating within law enforcement. The party insisted on a parliamentary committee to investigate these claims, emphasising the need to clean up police and justice institutions. Looking to the future, the EFF is preparing for the 2026 local government elections with ambitions to govern outright in many municipalities. Malema urged party structures to strengthen grassroots organisation, win wards decisively, and deliver services that the DA has failed to provide. Ending poverty, combatting crime, and ensuring dignity for all remain the movement's key objectives.

Outrage erupts over U. S. deportation of violent criminals to eSwatini
Outrage erupts over U. S. deportation of violent criminals to eSwatini

IOL News

time4 hours ago

  • IOL News

Outrage erupts over U. S. deportation of violent criminals to eSwatini

The government has denied the involvement of King Mswati in the deportation of hardened criminals from the U.S. to South Africa's neighbour. Image: Supplied/Eswatini Government U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's decision to send five dangerous hardened criminals to eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) has sparked outrage in the neighbouring country and fears that they may end up in South Africa. The Trump administration announced over a week ago that it would be sending the men who are illegal immigrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba convicted of child rape, murder, burglary, and being gang members and whose countries refuse to take them back. This week, the eSwatini Women's Movement has raised concerns about whether the five individuals informed of their removal and given access to consular support from their home countries as this is a fundamental right of anyone detained or deported across international borders. It demanded to know who within the eSwatini government authorised the acceptance of these individuals and the legal basis and if they were detained in line with a valid detention warrant or a certificate of detention as prescribed by the Immigration Act. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ "If there is no such legal basis, under what authority are they currently being held? Any alternative basis for detention may contravene the Correctional Services Act No. 13 of 2017 and risks undermining the rule of law in eSwatini," the movement said. In addition, it wants to know how much has been paid to the government of eSwatini to support the stay of the five deported individuals and the plan after the conclusion of their sentences. The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), which mobilises exiled emaSwati, has urged the country's citizens at home and in the diaspora to fight what it described as a shameful arrangement. The SSN said emaSwati must organise, mobilise and protest against the decision and make it clear to their government that their country is not for sale nor is it an American prison. According to the network, the U.S. homeland security department has stated that the convicted criminals must be removed so that they can never hurt another American victim, which by implication means they must now hurt emaSwati. "This is a deliberate act of collusion by two corrupt governments to dump America's most violent criminals in one of the world's poorest nations. And the (King) Mswati-led Tinkhundla (eSwatini local government administrative division) regime quietly agreed without consulting the nation or informing its own rubberstamp Parliament," the SSN said. It called on emaSwati to demand answers on whether this is a paid-for deal or a political favour, the terms and conditions. "This is an act of betrayal and is proof once again that the Tinkhundla regime does not prioritise the safety and wellbeing of the Swazi people. It has not only auctioned off national sovereignty but it has turned Swaziland into a dumping ground for foreign governments looking to offload hardened criminals," the network complained. Other organisations – the Swaziland Litigation Centre, the Swaziland Rural Women's Assembly and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre – said in a 2024 report on human rights practices in eSwatini, the U.S. noted that prisons were overcrowded, constituting inhumane treatment and that there were reports of torture. They are demanding that the eSwatini government commit to not accepting inmates from third countries. "The eSwatini Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration and international bodies, as official visitors under section 122 of the Correctional Services Act, visit the individuals to establish the facts surrounding their detention and their detention conditions. "The international bodies should include the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which is currently conducting an official visit in eSwatini, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Pretoria," the organisations demanded. Additionally, they want the government to clarify the legal and factual basis on which the five individuals were accepted into eSwatini and for their countries' consulates urgently arrange for consular services to ensure that they obtain legal representation. The eSwatini government has denied King Mswati's involvement in the prisoners' deportation while the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa did not respond to questions on Saturday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store