Top UN court poised to mark the future course of climate litigation
Known as an advisory opinion, the deliberation of the 15 judges of the International Court of Justice in The Hague is legally non-binding. It nevertheless carries legal and political weight and future climate cases would be unable to ignore it, legal experts say.
'The advisory opinion is probably the most consequential in the history of the court because it clarifies international law obligations to avoid catastrophic harm that would imperil the survival of humankind," said Payam Akhavan, an international law professor.
In two weeks of hearings last December at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, Akhavan represented low-lying, small island states that face an existential threat from rising sea levels.
In all, over a hundred states and international organisations gave their views on the two questions the U.N. General Assembly had asked the judges to consider.
They were: what are countries' obligations under international law to protect the climate from greenhouse gas emissions; and what are the legal consequences for countries that harm the climate system?
Wealthy countries of the Global North told the judges that existing climate treaties, including the 2015 Paris Agreement, which are largely non-binding, should be the basis for deciding their responsibilities.
More: Heat dome to push extreme temperatures across much of US this week
Developing nations and small island states argued for stronger measures, in some cases legally binding, to curb emissions and for the biggest emitters of climate-warming greenhouse gases to provide financial aid.
PARIS AGREEMENT AND AN UPSURGE IN LITIGATION
In 2015, at the conclusion of U.N. talks in Paris, more than 190 countries committed to pursue efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
The agreement has failed to curb the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions.
More: Trump withdraws U.S. from 'woke' UNESCO program again
Late last year, in the most recent "Emissions Gap Report," which takes stock of countries' promises to tackle climate change compared with what is needed, the U.N said that current climate policies will result in global warming of more than 3 C (5.4 F) above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
So far, the results have been mixed.
More: Global climate pattern shows signs of shifting. What will happen in the US?
As campaigners seek to hold companies and governments to account, climate‑related litigation has intensified, with nearly 3,000 cases filed across almost 60 countries, according to June figures from London's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
A German court in May threw out a case between a Peruvian farmer and German energy giant RWE RWEG.DE, but his lawyers and environmentalists said the case, which dragged on for a decade, was a still victory for climate cases that could spur similar lawsuits.
Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which holds jurisdiction over 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries, said in another advisory opinion its members must cooperate to tackle climate change.
Campaigners say Wednesday's court opinion should be a turning point and that, even if the ruling itself is advisory, it should provide for the determination that U.N. member states have broken the international law they have signed up to uphold.
"The court can affirm that climate inaction, especially by major emitters, is not merely a policy failure but a breach of international law," said Fijian Vishal Prasad, one of the law students that lobbied the government of Vanuatu in the South Pacific Ocean to bring the case to the ICJ.
Although it is theoretically possible to ignore an ICJ ruling, lawyers say countries are typically reluctant to do so.
"This opinion is applying binding international law, which countries have already committed to. National and regional courts will be looking to this opinion as a persuasive authority and this will inform judgments with binding consequences under their own legal systems," Joie Chowdhury, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, said.
The court will start reading out its opinion at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, additional reporting by Ali Withers in Copenhagen; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
8 minutes ago
- Newsweek
US Army To Boost Patriot Air Defense Battalions
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. Army will add three more battalions to its Patriot air defense force and beef up its air defense on the key U.S. territory of Guam. Why It Matters The Patriot ground-based air defense system is considered the gold standard of air defense, credited with knocking out even the most sophisticated of threats, like tough-to-intercept ballistic missiles. The Raytheon-built systems are in very high demand across the world, not least in Europe as Ukraine's allies struggle to meet Kyiv's requirements for defenses against next-generation aerial weapons frequently launched by Moscow. Patriot battalions are deployed in the Pacific. They also intercepted Iran's attack on the U.S.'s Al Udeid airbase in Qatar in June. What To Know The U.S. Army will increase the number of its operational Patriot battalions to 18, up from 15, an Army spokesperson told Defense News in a statement. German and Ukrainian soldiers stand in front of "Patriot" anti-aircraft missile systems during the visit of Ukrainian President Zelensky to a military training area on June 11, 2024. German and Ukrainian soldiers stand in front of "Patriot" anti-aircraft missile systems during the visit of Ukrainian President Zelensky to a military training area on June 11, 2024. Jens B'ttner/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images A Patriot battalion is made up of several Patriot batteries, said William Freer, a research fellow in national security at the U.K.-based think tank, the Council on Geostrategy. Each Patriot battery has several components, including a radar, multiple launchers, and a command and control center. Also in the mix are different types of Patriot interceptor missiles. Another battalion based on the remote Western Pacific island of Guam will have extra Patriot capabilities, according to the report. The U.S. military has several key military bases on Guam, a U.S. owned territory east of The Philippines. The then-chief of the Space and Missile Defense Command, Lieutenant General Daniel Karbler, said in mid-2023 the U.S. would expand its Patriot capabilities to "recognize the demands on the Patriot force." Karbler did not specify at the time how many additional battalions would be added. General James Mingus, the U.S. Army's vice chief of staff, said in July the Army would add "up to four" new Patriot battalions, including one in Guam. The new battalions would use the most up-to-date radar for Patriots to "vastly extend" the range of the air defense systems, the senior official said. "Recent improvements to radar used in a Patriot battery, implementing lessons and data from engagements in recent years, and improved integration with other systems promise to make Patriot even more effective in the future," Freer told Newsweek. "In the future, the majority of threats Soldiers will face will be in the skies, making air defense more critical," the U.S. Army said in a press release. Patriots, while widely hailed as very effective, are very expensive systems. Where possible, cheaper air defense systems or drones will be used to intercept slower-moving and inexpensively-made threats, like other drones. "There are long waiting lists for new customers," Freer said. "A single battery and its missiles costs around $1.1 billion, meaning a Patriot battalion could cost between $4-5 billion." Patriots would be "a vital component" in U.S. defenses in any future fight with China, Freer added. The Netherlands said on Monday it would send Patriot parts and missiles to Ukraine as part of a package worth roughly $577 million. "The Netherlands is the first country to follow up on the NATO-US weapons deal," including buying American air defense systems for Kyiv, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a statement on social media. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and U.S. President Donald Trump announced in July that NATO's European members and Canada would pay for urgently needed equipment for Ukraine, buying supplies like air defense systems from the U.S. "I commend The Netherlands for taking the lead and turning this initiative into concrete support on the ground, building on the steps taken last week by Germany to deliver more Patriot systems to Ukraine," Rutte said in a statement on Monday. Berlin said on Friday it would send two more Patriot systems to Ukraine through an agreement with the U.S. to urgently replace the donated systems. What People Are Saying William Freer, a research fellow in national security at the Council on Geostrategy, told Newsweek that the Patriot is "one of the most capable" air defense systems. What Happens Next With the U.S. planning to expand its Patriot battalions, "it is vital that production numbers [of interceptor missiles] are increased to meet demand and build-up stockpiles," Freer said. "There is no point in a Patriot battery if it has no missiles to fire," Freer added.
CNN
30 minutes ago
- CNN
Moldova jails pro-Russian regional leader for election fraud weeks before crucial vote
A court in Moldova has sentenced a Kremlin-friendly regional politician to seven years in prison for funneling money from Russia to finance a political party. Evgenia Gutul, the leader of Gagauzia, a historically pro-Russian ethnic region in southern Moldova, was detained in March on suspicion of electoral fraud and sentenced on Tuesday. Prosecutors said that from 2019 to 2022, Gutul channeled undeclared funds into the country to finance a political party founded by Ilan Shor, Reuters reported. Shor is a pro-Russian businessman who has been convicted of fraud in Moldova and now lives in exile. Gutul's conviction comes just weeks before Moldovans vote in a crucial parliamentary election, in which Maia Sandu, the pro-Western president of the former Soviet country, is hoping to retain her governing majority. Sandu was reelected as president last year in a vote held on the same day as a referendum on joining the European Union, which Moldovans backed by a razor-thin majority. Both votes were marred by what prosecutors said was a massive vote-buying scheme orchestrated by Shor, who has spent much of his time in Russia since he was convicted for his role in the 2014 theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks. Before the referendum, Moldova's national police chief said some 130,000 citizens had received a total of $15 million from Shor in exchange for voting 'no' or persuading others to do so. The police chief said it was 'clear' that Russia was financing the scheme; Moscow has denied meddling in Moldovan politics. Gutul, a former secretary for Shor's now-banned party, was elected governor of Gagauzia in 2023. That election also drew accusations of vote-buying. Last year, Gutul was sanctioned by the EU for actions 'destabilizing' Moldova and promoting separatism in her region. Gutul denies wrongdoing and claims her prosecution was politically motivated. In March, she penned a letter to Donald Trump, claiming that she, like the US president, had been subjected to 'propaganda efforts and pressure from the corrupt globalist elites.' Responding to her sentencing Tuesday, Gutul said she would appeal the ruling, which she claimed was an attempt to intimidate Gagauzians 'who dare to vote' for a party other than Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS). 'This decision has nothing to do with justice. This is a political reprisal, planned and executed on orders from above,' she wrote on Telegram. The Kremlin also claimed the verdict was politically motivated, and that Moldova was systematically suppressing the opposition. 'In effect, people are being deprived of the opportunity to vote for those they prefer. Of course, what we are seeing is a clear violation of democratic rules and norms in this country,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. Moldova's parliamentary election will be held on September 28. Although Sandu's PAS won by a landslide in the last vote in 2021, Moldova has since faced major economic and security challenges spilling over from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stirring anti-government sentiment in parts of the country.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Trump to unveil White House task force for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Donald Trump is slated to sign an executive order later today that will create a White House task force to handle issues surrounding the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to a White House statement. Reuters reported the task force will focus on security and transportation issues, while also working to "streamline visa processing and credentialing for foreign athletes, coaches, officials, and media." Those types of broad coordination efforts are common ahead of the Olympics and typically spearheaded by the federal government of the host nation. It is unclear who will serve on the task force, though multiple news outlets reported Trump will oversee it. A ceremony to sign the executive order is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Opinion: Trump can't save Olympic sports through executive order, but he can by funding them "The President considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in the statement. Leavitt added that Trump was "instrumental" in bringing the 2028 Summer Games to the United States and described sports as "one of President Trump's greatest passions." The White House also provided a statement from Casey Wasserman, the chairperson of the 2028 Los Angeles organizing committee, touting Trump's efforts. "The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028," Wasserman said. It is unclear how closely the task force will work with state entities and officials in California, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Both are Democrats and have clashed with Trump over domestic policy issues in the heavily-Democratic state, including the Trump administration's attempts to enforce immigration law. Protests broke out across Los Angeles earlier this summer after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raided locations across the city. The creation of the Olympics task force comes about five months after Trump created a similar task force to handle issues surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup for men's soccer. The president appointed Andrew Giuliani, the son of his close ally Rudy Giuliani, as executive director of that group. This story will be updated. Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
