From the Ground Up

In 2019, a group of students, working on a group project on climate change and international law, began to campaign for the matter to be brought to the International Court of Justice. The government of Vanuatu was persuaded to bring it to the United Nations, and was joined by many other states, resulting in a unanimously supported resolution at the UN General Assembly in 2023 to request an advisory opinion from the ICJ on the legal obligations of states and the legal consequences of failing to meet those obligations. On July 23rd, the ICJ published their ruling. Amongst other findings,:

- The Paris Agreement's 1.5°C temperature target is legally binding for all states that have ratified the Agreement

- Customary law requires that all states, in particular the largest emitters, must take ambitious mitigation measures in line with the best available science

- States with high greenhouse gas emissions and/or heavy dependence on fossil fuel productions can be subject to legal action, with the possibility of being required to provide reparation, restoration and compensation to victims of climate change impacts.

In this episode, Mark is in conversation with Mitchell Beer, editor of the Energy Mix, about the ICJ's verdict and its implications.

An excellent summary of the ICJ advisory opinion is provided by Carbon Brief.

https://www.theenergymix.com/

https://www.carbonbrief.org/icj-what-the-world-courts-landmark-opinion-means-for-climate-change/