Latest news with #InterAmericanCourt
Reuters
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
World Court to issue climate change opinion on July 23
THE HAGUE, July 7 (Reuters) - The top United Nations court will on July 23 issue a nonbinding opinion on countries' legal obligation to fight climate change, a decision expected to be cited in climate change-driven litigation around the world, the court said on Monday. The so-called advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is also expected to address whether large states contributing the most to greenhouse-gas emissions should be liable for damage caused to small island nations. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a similar opinion last week finding that its 20 Latin American and Caribbean member states must cooperate to tackle climate change and not take actions that set back environmental protections. During two weeks of hearings before the World Court in December, wealthy countries of the global north broadly argued that existing climate treaties like the Paris Agreement, which are largely nonbinding, should be the basis for deciding countries' responsibilities. Developing nations and small island states bearing the brunt of climate change argued for robust measures to curb emissions and require financial support from wealthy polluting nations. The World Court's advisory opinion is part of a global wave of climate litigation as countries, organizations and individuals are increasingly turning to courts for climate action. While nonbinding, the court's interpretations of law carry a lot of legal and political weight. Experts say its opinion could set a precedent in climate change-driven lawsuits in courts from Europe to Latin America and beyond.
E&E News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
International tribunal declares right to healthy climate
Countries across Central and South America have an obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment, a human rights court found last week in a landmark decision that boosts efforts to address climate change in the region. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that countries bear a responsibility to prevent harms from climate change under the American Convention on Human Rights. It also emphasized a need to protect the rights of Indigenous people and those most vulnerable to environmental harm, including rural communities, children and people with disabilities. The nonbinding opinion also found that countries have an obligation to regulate polluters and adopt ambitious climate targets based on science. And it called on countries to act to prevent climate disinformation. Advertisement 'The court has broken new ground and set a powerful precedent in affirming the human right to a healthy climate,' said Nikki Reisch, climate and energy program director at the Center for International Environmental Law. 'The court's conclusions should put big polluters, like the fossil fuel industry, on notice: Climate-destructive conduct violates the law.'
