The winds of change are blowing. In April 2024, with the gavel’s final bang, Europe’s highest human rights court made history, becoming the first international tribunal to conclude that States have a duty under human rights law to take decisive action to combat climate change. This win represents a major step on the path to climate accountability.
Small Island States
In May 2024, responding to a request by a group of small island states, the world court for the oceans, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), issued a historic advisory Opinion on climate change, clarifying that States must protect the oceans from greenhouse gas emissions. CIEL and partners submitted amicus briefs to inform the court’s analysis and supported States, civil society, and the press to distill the implications of the Opinion when it was delivered in Hamburg.
The opinion by ITLOS marks the first time an international court has recognized that the fates of our shared global spaces — the oceans and the atmosphere — are intertwined and endangered by the climate crisis.
Americas
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has been asked to clarify States’ human rights obligations in the climate emergency. CIEL and partners submitted written arguments, urging the Court to reinforce the duty to protect rights from the causes and consequences of climate change.
In April and May 2024, CIEL and partners addressed the Inter-American Court at public hearings held in Barbados and Brazil, raising critical issues such as the rights of environmental defenders and the need for robust regulation of corporate polluters like the fossil fuel industry. Following the hearings, we helped launch a declaration signed by over 400 civil society and Indigenous groups, calling on the Court to set strong standards for climate action in its Opinion.
Europe
In a groundbreaking ruling in Verein Klimaseniorinnen Schweiz v. Switzerland that is already influencing climate action and climate litigation worldwide, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) determined that Switzerland violated its obligations under international human rights law by failing to take sufficient action to mitigate climate change. CIEL filed an amicus brief and cheered alongside the courageous Swiss senior women and their legal team as the Court delivered the historic ruling.
This landmark judgment in the Swiss case leaves no doubt: the climate crisis is a human rights crisis, and States have human rights obligations to act urgently, effectively, and in line with science to prevent further harm from climate change.
International
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is poised to deliver a climate opinion after public hearings in December 2024. The final climate advisory from the world’s highest court could have far-reaching implications, as its authority extends to all sources of international law and all UN Member States. CIEL published legal arguments and, with a coalition of partners, has been supporting States’ legal teams and mobilizing civil society to advocate for a strong opinion that confirms States must do more to halt the drivers of climate change, protect people and the planet from its impacts, and remedy mounting harms.
After years of behind-the-scenes efforts to inform court deliberations, we are now seeing the results. These groundbreaking legal developments will influence future court cases, shape narratives, and strengthen movements. Most importantly, they reinforce the critical role of courts and the power of international law as a tool to demand the ambitious climate action this moment requires, and secure climate accountability, remedy, and justice.