World’s highest court issues clear ruling: Countries must protect the climate and compensate for harms to people and planet

Landmark legal case led by Pacific Island youth; Right to a clean healthy environment affirmed

For Immediate Release

July 24, 2025

Media Contact: Eric Grignol, UUSC Director of Strategic Communications, media@uusc.org, 857-762-2117
Alexandra Zaroulis, 617MediaGroup, alex.zaroulis@617mediagroup.com, 617- 658-8115

Boston, MA: The world’s highest court issued a landmark ruling years in the making: nations must ramp up their international efforts to halt emissions and compensate for the harms they have caused to people and the environment. The court’s advisory opinion clarifies nations’ obligations to prevent climate change and the consequences for polluters that have failed to do so.

The ruling is the culmination of a bold and visionary campaign by Pacific Island youth defending their culture, land, and future. In 2019, Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change, a UUSC partner, began efforts to get the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue a human rights opinion on States’ obligations to act on climate change and address ongoing harm. The organizers succeeded, and in December 2024, the court held oral hearings. This advisory opinion will become a turning point in international law and a defining moment for climate accountability.

“Today the world’s smallest countries have made history,” said Vishal Prasad, Director, Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change. “The ICJ’s decision brings us closer to a world where governments can no longer turn a blind eye to their legal responsibilities. It affirms a simple truth of climate justice: those who did the least to fuel this crisis deserve protection, reparations, and a future. This ruling is a lifeline for Pacific communities on the frontline.”

The court was asked to determine:

• What are the obligations of States under international law to protect the climate system for present and future generations?
• What are the legal consequences for States who have caused significant harm to the climate with respect to States that are particularly vulnerable to climate change?

The Court recognized climate change as “an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet.” It made clear that countries must protect the climate system and failure to do is a breach of international law.  Further, it noted that countries are responsible for regulating the actions of polluting companies under their jurisdictions, including limiting fossil fuel emissions, subsidies, and exploration licenses. Crucially, States are also under a duty to provide reparations for their failure to fulfill their obligations.

The Court emphasized the importance of the right to a clean, healthy and safe environment, as a precondition to many other rights including the right to life, the right to health, and the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to water, food and housing. In issuing the unanimous opinion for the World Court’s 15 judges, Judge Yuji Iwasawa said, “The human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights.”

Mayuri Anupindi, Global Advocacy Strategist for UUSC said, “This is a momentous day for climate justice. The Court affirmed that climate change is an existential human rights crisis and upheld the right of every one of us to a healthy and sustainable environment. It dismissed arguments powerful states used to evade legal responsibility. Pacific Island youth led this campaign to help secure our future, and they have been vindicated. Now it is for States to fulfill their legal duty to protect our climate.”

The ICJ’s advisory opinion, while non-binding, puts on notice those contributing to environmental harm: they are accountable for their role in the climate crisis under international law. Over 190 countries lodged the request with the UN General Assembly in 2023 underscoring the global effort to clarify countries’ obligations in addressing the climate crisis.

Courts around the world see ICJ advisory opinions as providing an authoritative interpretation of international law. This ruling will be a powerful tool for communities seeking climate justice in their domestic courts.

This ruling is also a victory for grassroots environmental activists who have worked over decades to hold the largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions accountable, including the United States. Anupindi notes: “The Court also said that non-parties to the Paris Agreement are also obliged to reduce emissions, cooperate with other countries, and protect the climate system under customary international law. This is important given the U.S. government’s attempts to abandon their climate obligations by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.”

Salote Soqo, UUSC Director of Advocacy, Global Displacement, said, “This sends a clear message to States and local jurisdictions that their commitments to address the climate crisis is in alignment and in support of upholding the United States’ commitment to international law.”

About UUSC

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates.