Today’s Advisory Opinion is a landmark step forward in clarifying what international law requires of States in the face of the climate emergency. The Court leaves no doubt: governments have legal obligations to take far more ambitious, immediate, and collective measures to confront climate change and the significant harm done by human activities to the climate system and the environment, for present and future generations. It underlined that the impacts of climate change significantly imperil certain human rights, including the right to life.
The Court confirmed that climate change is an “urgent and existential threat” and that we must keep global temperature within 1.5C from pre-industrial levels. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat, it’s a present reality—seas swell higher, storms grow stronger, and heatwaves strike harder. The burden falls heaviest on those who have contributed the least—especially communities in the Global South, and in particular, women and girls. Wealthy countries and major emitters must meet their obligations, including delivering climate finance for adaptation and mitigation, and addressing loss and damage, and fulfill their historical responsibilities.
The Global North’s failure to meaningfully address the climate crisis—let alone halt it—is a tragedy of global consequences. The ICJ’s advisory opinion, though nonbinding, carries substantial legal and political weight as it applies binding international law, which countries have already committed to. Thus, the opinion, reached unanimously, will help boosting climate accountability lawsuits and reinforce the Paris Agreement framework by setting a powerful precedent grounded in urgency, ambition, and equity.
ENDS
For media enquiries contact Briony FitzGerald on 0404 117 927
Note to Editors
CARE’s climate change experts are available for interviews.
Hollow Commitments 2025, CARE Denmark’s report on wealthy countries’ failure to live up to their climate finance commitments is available here. The press release with key findings can be found here.
About CARE International
CARE is a leader within a worldwide movement dedicated to ending poverty. From emergency response to long-term sustainable solutions, CARE is known for our unshakeable commitment to the dignity of all people. We work to support women and girls, so we can effectively address the root causes of poverty and create pathways to economic freedom for all. We do this in partnership with men and boys and community leaders locally, regionally, and globally. For nearly 80 years, CARE has been there, from the first CARE Packages® delivering relief in Europe after World War II, to every major global crisis since. Our long-term development programs and trusted local leadership continue to impact the lives of millions of people around the world.
About CARE Australia
CARE Australia is one member of the global CARE Confederation. CARE Australia supports women and girls around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. We work in partnership with local communities to provide equal opportunities for women and girls to be educated and to earn an income, gain access to essential resources like food, health care and clean water, and to be able to withstand and recover from the increasing
impacts of disasters, conflict and other crises. Our programs focus on women and girls because we know when one woman breaks the cycle of poverty she brings four others with her – and that’s a powerful multiplier of impact.
