THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Judges with the United Nations’s top court say in a landmark climate decision that a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is a human right.
The International Court of Justice is delivering an advisory opinion Wednesday about nations’ obligations to tackle climate change and consequences they may face if they don’t.
The non-binding opinion, which runs to over 500 pages, is seen as a potential turning point in international climate law. Enshrining a sustainable environment as a human right paves the way for other legal actions, including states returning to the ICJ to hold each other to account, as well as domestic lawsuits.
“The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is therefore inherent in the enjoyment of other human rights,” court President Yuji Iwasawa said.
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Associated Press writer Annika Hammerschlag in Vanuatu contributed to this report.