A “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right, and if countries fail to take “appropriate action to protect the climate system”, they could violate international law, according to the UN’s top court.
Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have just delivered a long-awaited advisory opinion on nations’ climate obligations and the consequences they face if they don’t fulfil them.
“Failure of the state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions…may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that state,” ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said, including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies
The court affirmed that a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right. It also said that countries harmed by climate change could also be entitled to reparations, but what they are owed must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
“Today, the tables have turned,” Mary Robinson, Member of the Elders, First woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
“The World’s highest court provided us with a powerful new tool to protect people from the devastating impacts of the climate crisis and to deliver justice for the harm their emissions have already caused.”
Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s minister for climate change, called the ruling an “important milestone in the fight for climate justice”. “We now have a common foundation based on the rule of law, releasing us from the limitations of individual nations’ political interests that have dominated climate action.”
He added that Vanuatu was “proud and honoured” to have spearheaded the initiative to bring the issue to the ICJ, praising the determination of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and youth activists. “Their persistence has transformed a grassroots movement into the biggest case in the history of international law, placing climate justice at the heart of international discourse.”
ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa called climate change an “existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet”.
He said that, building on the latest science and decisions at UN climate conferences, the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels must be understood to be the internationally agreed-upon objective of climate policies.
Iwasawa added that countries have a duty to cooperate on preventing harm caused by climate change and must make sure their national climate targets represent the highest possible ambition.
The ICJ described the climate system as an “integral and vitally important part of the environment, and which must be protected for present and future generations”.
Though the 500-page advisory opinion is non-binding and the court can’t force countries to act, it forms an important basis for international climate obligations. All UN member states, including emitters such as the United States and China, are parties to the court.
“When a court like the ICJ recognises new connections between conduct and legal norms, like the idea that failing to curb fossil fuels-related emissions can violate international legal obligations, it does not stop there. That recognition opens the door for further legal claims,” explains Sebastien Duyck, senior attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law.
“If states have legal duties to prevent climate harm, then victims of that harm have a right to redress. In this way, the ICJ advisory opinion not only clarifies existing rules, but it also creates legal momentum. It reshapes what is now considered legally possible, actionable, and ultimately enforceable.”
Sarah Mead, co-director of the Climate Litigation Network, adds that the ruling validates what a majority of people around the world expect from their governments – meaningful climate action.
“Nearly all countries’ climate plans are falling short of what’s needed to keep everyone safe, which is why more and more people are turning to courts to hold their governments to account,” she says.
“Today, the law stands firmly on their side, confirming leaders do in fact have a duty to protect the planet and safeguard everyone’s future.”
The ruling comes after years of lobbying from vulnerable island nations spearheaded by Vanuatu, which led to the ICJ being asked by the UN General Assembly in 2023 to deliver an advisory opinion.
“Today, the world’s smallest countries have made history,” says Vishal Prasad, Director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.
Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Bozbey: We lost approximately 3 million trees in two fires
Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mustafa Bozbey stated that the fires that broke out in two separate areas affected a total area of 10,000 football fields, saying, “This is equivalent to losing approximately 3 million trees.”
Bozbey assessed the fires that broke out in the centre and forest areas of Bursa to Anka News Agency.
Noting that it was the fifth day of the fires in the region and that they had broken out in two separate areas known as the central and mountainous regions, he said, “We have lost a total area equivalent to 10,000 football fields in both regions. This is equivalent to losing approximately 3 million trees. Our sorrow is endless.”
Bozbey, who noted that Bursa had not experienced such a disaster in many years, said, “Civil society organisations, individuals, motorcyclists, private vehicle owners, and villagers with their tractors… Everyone provided incredible support and made an incredible contribution to extinguishing this fire,” and added:
“We also contributed to extinguishing the fire for five days, coordinating with our teams and deploying approximately 250-260 vehicles and an average of 450 personnel around the clock. As a result, the fire has now been largely extinguished. Today, we are a bit more relaxed. However, there is another situation that has flared up in a different area. All necessary measures have been taken, and intervention is currently underway. We hope that with the help of the wind, which we hope does not increase, the situation will improve. If the wind picks up, there could be new developments in the area where the fire has reignited, and we are concerned about that. Our colleagues have already intervened in that area, and we are currently awaiting the results.”
Bozbey stated that they are also working for the animals in the burned forest area and that the Veterinary Affairs Department is conducting a special project with non-governmental organisations. He noted that the injured animals are being treated and released back into nature. Bozbey also said that they are providing support in feeding the injured animals.
“We have no choice but to do this. Because they are also living beings, we did not just lose an area the size of 10,000 football fields; we also lost the living beings in that area. Unfortunately, we have disrupted the balance of nature here. For that reason, I urge everyone to protect nature,” said Bozbey, extending his condolences to the entire country.