The International Court of Justice, the world’s highest court, held hearings in mid-December 2024 on the legal obligations that governments have under international law to protect the environment and limit climate change. It’s the biggest case the court has ever heard. The court is expected to hand down a legal advisory opinion in 2025. This will shape international climate law and governance. Climate law specialist Zunaida Moosa Wadiwala explains.
What triggered this case?
This climate change case started in 2021 when a group of law students lobbied the government of Vanuatu, a tiny South Pacific island nation threatened by rising sea levels, to approach the court. They wanted the court to issue an advisory opinion on what countries should be compelled to do to prevent climate change.
