UN Court Says States Obligated to Protect the Environment

The International Court of Justice found on July 23, 2025, that existing climate change treaties and international law provide binding obligations for states to protect the climate system and the environment from the impact of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This includes the obligation to limit, reduce, and mitigate GHGs and support adaptation to climate change, enhance greenhouse gas sinks and reservoirs, and cooperate with other states to reduce GHG emissions.

The court also determined that states have an obligation under international human rights law to protect the climate system and other parts of the environment.

Further, the court said that breaches of these obligations constitute an internationally wrongful act, with legal consequences including cessation of the breach, assurances of non-repetition of the breach, and reparations to injured states.

In a press release, Greenpeace Legal Counsel Danilo Garrido said, “This is the start of a new era of climate accountability at a global level. The ICJ advisory opinion marks a turning point for climate justice, as it has clarified, once and for all, the international climate obligations of States, and most importantly, the consequences for breaches of these obligations.”

The opinion of the court is non-binding, which means it cannot impose damages or penalties. However, its opinion will carry considerable weight as countries look to other legal mechanisms to seek compensation and to force larger countries to address their emissions.

“This will open the door for new cases, and hopefully bring justice to those, who despite having contributed the least to climate change, are already suffering its most severe consequences,” said Garrido. “The message of the court is clear: the production, consumption and granting of licenses and subsidies for fossil fuels could be breaches of international law. Polluters must stop emitting and must pay for the harms they have caused.”