If a country fails to take decisive action to protect the planet from climate change, it could be breaking international law and be held liable for damages caused to humanity. This is one of the conclusions of an unprecedented advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal obligations of states in the face of this environmental crisis.
The 15 judges that make up the ICJ, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, described the need to address the threat of climate change as “urgent and existential.” Unanimously, they determined that signatories to various international agreements could be violating