UN agrees on role for Int’l Court of Justice in climate change

Prime minister of Vanuatu, Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau, addresses delegates during a general assembly vote on whether to ask the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on climate responsibility, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, on March 29, 2023 [Eduardo Munoz/Reuters]

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution proposed by the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to seek an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on what legal obligations nations are under to protect climate systems and people affected by climate change.

Co-sponsored by 132 countries at the UN, the resolution was adopted on Wednesday by a consensus. The UN is now empowered to seek the ICJ’s opinion on what countries’ legal obligations are to protect current and future generations from climate change.