Key points
- Developing countries have a right to seek damages for the impacts of climate change: ICJ
- Countries breaching their climate obligations committing a “wrongful act”: ICJ
- Law students from low-lying Pacific islands filed the case at ICJ
ISLAMABAD: A landmark decision by a top UN court has cleared the way for countries to sue each other over climate change, including over historic emissions of planet-warming gases.
But the judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday said that untangling who caused which part of climate change could be difficult, according to BBC.
The court ruled that developing countries have a right to seek damages for the impacts of climate change such as destroyed buildings and infrastructure.
It added that where it is not possible to restore part of a country then its government may want to seek compensation.
This could be for a specific extreme weather event if it can be proved that climate change caused it, but the Judge said this would need to be determined on a case by case basis.
“Wrongful act”
Countries breaching their climate obligations were committing a “wrongful act”, the court said in its advisory opinion, which is not legally binding but carries significant moral, political and legal weight, according to AFP.
“The legal consequences resulting from the commission of an internationally wrongful act may include … full reparations to injured states in the form of restitution, compensation and satisfaction,” AFP cited ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa on behalf of the 15-judge panel as saying.
“This is a huge win for climate vulnerable states. It’s a huge win for Vanuatu, which led this case and is going to change the face of climate advocacy,” BBC cited barrister Jennifer Robinson at Doughty Street Chambers, who represented Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands as saying.
Wide-ranging consequences
The ruling is non-binding but legal experts say it could have wide-ranging consequences. It will be seen as a victory for countries that are very vulnerable to climate change, who came to court after feeling frustrated about lack of global progress in tackling the problem, BBC reported.
The unprecedented case at the ICJ was the brainchild of a group of young law students from low-lying Pacific islands on the frontlines of climate change, who came up with the idea in 2019.
