The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has made an historic and unanimous ruling confirming countries’ obligations under international law to slash climate pollution, and the legal consequences for breaching these obligations.
The landmark advisory opinion states “obligations pertaining to the protection of the climate system do not rest exclusively with consumers and end users, but also include activities such as ongoing production, licensing and subsidising of fossil fuels.”
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The decision has significant implications for Australia, despite the Australian Government’s submissions to the Court arguing that complying with the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was all that international law required, and Australia had no relevant obligations when it came to exporting fossil fuels.
The Court characterises failure to cut a nation’s climate pollution as a “wrongful act” that could trigger obligations to make reparations, including compensation, to other countries injured by the climate crisis.
The ICJ advisory opinion states:
- [427]… Failure of a State to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from GHG 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.
- [428]… a State may be responsible where, for example, it has failed to exercise due diligence by not taking the necessary regulatory and legislative measures to limit the quantity of emissions caused by private actors under its jurisdiction.
Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said, “The decision will reverberate across the world and around Australia—in courtrooms, boardrooms, Parliaments and international negotiations.
“The Court makes it crystal clear that all countries have significant legal responsibilities to prevent further climate harm by slashing their climate pollution rapidly and deeply.
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“The Court’s ruling makes it clear that Australia has international legal obligations to take responsibility for its fossil fuel production—whether used domestically or exported—due to the significant harm it causes and regardless of where the coal, oil, or gas is ultimately burned.
“The world’s highest international court has exploded the federal government’s argument that Australia is not accountable for our vast fossil fuel exports. Australia has a legal duty to prevent significant harm to the climate system, not just in our domestic pollution but in all our activities.”
