The International Court of Justice, sitting in the Hague, has today issued a long-awaited landmark opinion, which sets out the obligations on governments to reduce their climate emissions. Their first-ever climate advisory opinion states that UN Member States have stringent duties under international law to act to limit carbon emissions, and that the issues before the court “represent more than a legal problem: they concern an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet.”
Of particular relevance to Scotland and the UK, following debates around the licencing of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea, the ruling also states that:
“Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions — including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licences or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies — may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that State.”
Becky Kenton-Lake, Coalition Manager at Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, said:
“The shift this opinion should guide Ministers towards is entirely pragmatic and proportionate, and should have been made years ago. Across every policy area from housing to transport and energy, decisions that benefit the climate also bring significant benefits to jobs, health and our economy, and are much cheaper in the long run than doing nothing. Also, in particular, today’s announcement should mean an end to debates about new oil and gas projects like Cambo or Rosebank, with focus shifting to delivering a fair and managed transition to clean energy.
“With the survival of island nations at stake and extreme weather increasingly impacting lives and livelihoods in Scotland, Ministers and all the parties at Holyrood must treat this legal and moral breakthrough at the Hague as a wake-up call and stop prioritising profit over people and planet.”
Dr Shivali Fifield, Chief Officer at the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland, said:
“This case began in 2021 as a complaint from a group of law students in Vanuatu, almost ten thousand miles away, and by 2023 it was supported at the UN General Assembly by 132 nations. These are typically countries where the consequences of inaction are even more visible than they are in Scotland, and the opinion today makes clear that the climate damage they are facing is a violation of their human rights.
“160 out of 193 UN Member States now recognise the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, including the right to a safe climate. Scotland must catch up and enshrine this right in a long-promised Scottish Human Rights Act, so that we can hold polluters to account and challenge the status quo of oil and gas dependency, in line with public demands for urgent climate justice.”
EDITOR’S NOTES
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Established in June 1945 and located in The Hague, the ICJ adjudicates disputes between nations and provides advisory opinions on international legal issues. It plays a crucial role in promoting global peace and security by offering a means for countries to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. The court decides cases based on international law, including treaties, customs, and general principles recognised by civilised nations.