International Court rules in favor of Pacific Island states

The International Court of Justice has ruled in favour of Papua New Guinea and other Pacific Island countries, stating that these countries have legal obligations to prevent and address the harmful impacts of climate change.

The court, in its Advisory Opinion, found that the countries have binding legal obligations under international law and customary international law to prevent and address the harmful impacts of climate change.

The decision follows a request from the United Nations General Assembly for an Advisory Opinion regarding the climate change obligation of states. The initiative for this Advisory Opinion was championed at the United Nations by Vanuatu, inspired by a youth-led campaign calling for climate justice and legal accountability. This youth-driven movement underscored the urgency of international legal action in response to the worsening climate crisis.

According to the Minister for Justice and Attorney General Pila Niningi, PNG was among other countries that made an oral submission to the World Court, advocating for stronger legal accountability in the face of rising global emissions. The case was heard in December 2024.

“In our submission, we rallied with Vanuatu and other countries for this outcome. We are pleased with the outcome,” Minister Niningi said.

Minister Niningi led PNG’s representation which included PNG Ambassador to the United Nations Fred Sarufa, Secretary for the Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG) Dr Eric Kwa, Public Solicitor Leslie Mamu, and then Acting Solicitor General E'ava Geita. The team also comprised DJAG lawyers, Office of the Public Solicitor, and the Climate Change and Development Authority.

The World Court made the following key findings:

• States must take action under both international treaties (e.g., UNFCCC, Paris Agreement, UNCLOS) and customary international law to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate system;

• Due diligence standards are high: States must adopt and enforce robust legal, regulatory, and policy activities to prevent environmental harm. Small Island Developing States were specifically recognized as especially vulnerable and legal protection from climate-related harm;

• States that breach their obligations, through acts or omissions, can be held responsible under international law for resulting harm to other States, peoples, and future generations;

• The Court recognized climate change as a human rights issue, affirming the interdependence between environmental protection and rights to life, health, water, housing, and a clean and sustainable environment.

The Court's Opinion carries significant legal and political weight, and will;

• Strengthen the legal basis for SIDS and vulnerable nations to demand meaningful climate action and support;

• Serve as an authoritative guide for interpreting and applying international climate treaties, especially in the context of litigation and policy-making;

• Provide a legal foundation for holding major emitters accountable where their emissions cause significant harm;

• Reinforce Papua New Guinea's efforts to pursue international cooperation, climate financing, and technical assistance as a matter of legal entitlement, not charity;

• Support integration of international climate and human rights standards into national laws, policies, and enforcement frameworks.

“This is a moment of immense pride for Papua New Guinea. Our voice was heard at the world's highest court,” Minister Niningi said. “The ruling confirms that climate justice is not just a political goal, it is a legal imperative.”

“I encourage all relevant agencies to use this decision to strengthen our domestic laws, advocate internationally, and protect our people and ecosystems for generations to come.

“Papua New Guinea reaffirms its commitment to working in solidarity with other small island nations and the international community to achieve effective, equitable, and legally grounded climate action,” Niningi added.

MSG LAUDS ADVISORY OPINION IN LANDMARK CASE

STATES HAVE LEGAL OBLIGATIONS TO PROTECT CLIMATE: WORLD COURT

The HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (24 July 2025): The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat has welcomed the historic ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that countries have legal obligations to protect the climate, saying it is a climate justice victory for Melanesia, the Pacific and planet Earth.

Acting Director General, Ilan Kiloe, speaking to world media right after the delivery of the Advisory Opinion, said the wisdom of MSG Leaders in tasking the MSG Secretariat to participate in the ICJAO proceedings was not made in vain, "yet yielded positive results that continue to make MSG a relevant and influential player in regional and global affairs".

He said it is also a huge win for the power of our youth to make an impact, referring to the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC)’s initial move that initially led to Vanuatu’s ICJ initiative.

The ICJ has ruled that climate change treaties and customary international law have binding obligations for States to ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from greenhouse gases. These treaties include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Charter of the United Nations, and the Paris Agreement, among others.

States also have an obligation under customary international law to prevent significant harm to the environment by acting with due diligence.

Under international human rights law, states have an obligation to ensure “the effective enjoyment of human rights by taking necessary measures to protect the climate system”.

The ICJ has further ruled that a breach of any obligations by a State, constitutes an internationally wrongful act entailing the responsibility of that State.

ADG Kiloe said, “I am so proud of the 27 USP students from Emalus whose brilliant idea has not only reached the corridors of the world’s highest court, but has now become a fully-fledged ICJ Advisory Opinion, a significant push and providing more ammunition in our fight to be heard at international climate change talks”.

The ruling he added, is not an end but the beginning of a journey to ensure that our future generations are protected and sustained from the devastation of the impacts of climate change.

“It certainly has been a long and tardious journey, history has been made yet again, and this ruling has given us hope for the future as we continue to grapple with the realities of sea-level rise, earthquakes and frequency of cyclones on the home front,” ADG Kiloe said. 

The MSG will continue to engage in the process as mandated by Leaders in the recent MSG Summit in Suva in supporting Vanuatu and MSG Member states in the next phases of the process including at the UN & COP negotiations.

#TeamMSG 🇫🇯🇳🇨🇵🇬🇸🇧🇻🇺

#BluePacific

#climatejustice

#ICJAO

D-DAY AT THE ICJ – A DEFINING MOMENT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE

2PORT VILA, VANUATU (23 July 2025): It is D-Day at the International Court of Justice where it will soon deliver a landmark ruling in the historic Advisory Opinion proceedings, on the obligation of States under International Law in respect to Climate Change.

This, at a crucial time when climate change has not only been declared by our Leaders as the single most existential threat facing the #BluePacific, but climate devastation is now even more frequent with floods, earthquakes, and cyclones among many more.

The Opinion will not only reshape expectations for both governments and businesses worldwide but clarify the scope of state responsibilities under international law, with potential knock-on effects for corporate liability, due diligence, and climate-related litigation.

Initiated by a group of students' assignment question at USP Vanuatu's Emalus campus, Vanuatu led a global coalition two years ago, to adopt a UN Resolution, requesting ICJ to clarify State obligations and legal consequences related to climate change. 

The move by these students eventually led to Vanuatu's ICJ initiative and gave rise to the formation of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC). The MSG Secretariat was delighted to have PISFCC part of its delegation and accord it the privilege to address the Court through the MSG platform, to further amplify the Pacific's call for climate justice during the hearing in December 2024.

President of the PISFCC, Ms. Houniuhi captivated the Court with her powerful testimony of how the initiative started, and what the ICJ proceedings mean for the future generations, further reinforcing MSG’s submission on the impact of climate change on youth and children.

At the 51st Pacific Islands Leaders meeting in Suva, Fiji in 2022, Pacific Leaders welcomed progress on Vanuatu’s initiative and noted that while non-binding, an ICJAO “may change the course of current negotiations and boost commitments,” and call on the UNGA to adopt a resolution requesting such an opinion.

In late 2023 at subregional level, MSG Leaders during the Leaders’ Summit in Port Vila, Vanuatu, mandated the MSG Secretariat, through the Political, Security & Legal Affairs programme, to take part in the proceedings. 

The MSG’s submission focused on climate change and its nefarious impact on customs and traditions, adding value to the national submissions by MSG members and representing the collective interests of the Melanesian sub-region.

Last month in Suva, Fiji, MSG Leaders endorsed the Secretariat’s ongoing participation in the ICJ process, particularly in the implementation of the Advisory Opinion. 

Our team at the ICJ includes the Acting Director General, Ilan Kiloe and Acting Programme Manager, Political, Security & Legal Affairs, Brittien Yosef.

To follow the case today, please click on:

https://webtv.un.org/en

#TeamMSG 🇫🇯🇳🇨🇵🇬🇸🇧🇻🇺

#climatejustice

#ICJAO

Photo Courtesy: ICJ File

A landmark climate change case will open at the top UN court as island nations fear rising seas

ABC News

The top United Nations court will take up the largest case in its history on Monday

ByMOLLY QUELL Associated Press

December 1, 2024, 2:09 PM

National headlines from ABC NewsCatch up on the developing stories making headlines.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The top United Nations court will take up the largest case in its history on Monday, when it opens two weeks of hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact.

After years of lobbying by island nations who fear they could simply disappear under rising sea waters, the U.N. General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice last year for an opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.”

“We want the court to confirm that the conduct that has wrecked the climate is unlawful,” Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, who is leading the legal team for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, told The Associated Press.

In the decade up to 2023, sea levels have risen by a global average of around 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches), with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels.

Vanuatu is one of a group of small states pushing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis.

“We live on the front lines of climate change impact. We are witnesses to the destruction of our lands, our livelihoods, our culture and our human rights,” Vanuatu’s climate change envoy Ralph Regenvanu told reporters ahead of the hearing.

Any decision by the court would be non-binding advice and unable to directly force wealthy nations into action to help struggling countries. Yet it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits.

On Sunday, ahead of the hearing, advocacy groups will bring together environmental organizations from around the world. Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change — who first developed the idea of requesting an advisory opinion — together with World Youth for Climate Justice plan an afternoon of speeches, music and discussions.

From Monday, the Hague-based court will hear from 99 countries and more than a dozen intergovernmental organizations over two weeks. It’s the largest lineup in the institution’s nearly 80-year history.

Last month at the United Nations’ annual climate meeting, countries cobbled together an agreement on how rich countries can support poor countries in the face of climate disasters. Wealthy countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035 but the total is short of the $1.3 trillion that experts, and threatened nations, said is needed.

“For our generation and for the Pacific Islands, the climate crisis is an existential threat. It is a matter of survival, and the world’s biggest economies are not taking this crisis seriously. We need the ICJ to protect the rights of people at the front lines,” Vishal Prasad, of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, told reporters in a briefing.

Fifteen judges from around the world will seek to answer two questions: What are countries obliged to do under international law to protect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? And what are the legal consequences for governments where their acts, or lack of action, have significantly harmed the climate and environment?

The second question makes particular reference to “small island developing States” likely to be hardest hit by climate change and to “members of “the present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change.”

The judges were even briefed on the science behind rising global temperatures by the U.N.’s climate change body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ahead of the hearings.

The case at the ICJ follows a number of rulings around the world ordering governments to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In May, a U.N. tribunal on maritime law said that carbon emissions qualify as marine pollution and countries must take steps to adapt to and mitigate their adverse effects.

That ruling came a month after Europe’s highest human rights court said that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change, in a landmark judgment that could have implications across the continent.

The ICJ’s host country of The Netherlands made history when a court ruled in 2015 that protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change is a human right and that the government has a duty to protect its citizens. The judgment was upheld in 2019 by the Dutch Supreme Court.