On July 23, 2025, at 3 p.m. CEST, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), often known as the World Court will deliver a landmark opinion on climate change in response to a request from the UN General Assembly. Vanuatu initiated this opinion in March 2023 and will discuss the financial responsibility of nations for their contributions to climate change, as well as the steps that must be taken to mitigate it. The decision will have a significant effect on international climate policy discussions, despite not being legally binding.

The ICJ, established in 1945 by the UN Charter, comprises 15 justices appointed for nine-year terms to resolve international disputes. President Judge Iwasawa Yuji will deliver the opinion at the Peace Palace in The Hague in December 2024, following more than two years of proceedings that included 91 written declarations and oral arguments from more than 100 countries. The speech will be webcast online in both English and French.

The Path to a Global Climate Ruling

The World Court will deliver a landmark opinion on climate change, and the procedure started on March 29, 2023, when the UNGA assigned the ICJ the responsibility of elucidating governments’ legal duties in relation to climate change, at the behest of Vanuatu. After receiving a record 91 written declarations from member states and organisations, the Court extended the deadline for responses to 15 August 2024. Beginning with Vanuatu and the Melanesian Spearhead Group, 30-minute presentations were delivered during oral hearings held from December 2 to 13, 2024.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement were the main topics of legal debates. Invoking lex specialis, major emitters such as the United States, Australia, and Germany contended that these treaties transcend other international agreements, so restricting reparations. On the other hand, developing countries claimed that the effects of climate change violated human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and common law, and they demanded compensation from high-emission nations for the low-lying governments that were impacted.

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Key Questions Shaping the Opinion

Four judges asked important follow-up questions during the proceedings, which impacted the Court’s decision-making. Judge Sarah Cleveland of the United States inquired about the responsibilities of oil-producing nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Judge Dire Tladi of South Africa investigated the procedural and binding nature of the Paris Agreement’s pledges. Judge Bogdan-Lucian Auresco of Romania asked for clarification about international law’s protection of the right to a hygienic and safe environment.

Judge Hilary Charlesworth of Australia examined how the Paris Agreement impacted the country’s existing compensation regulations. The Court remained silent until July 7, 2025, when the opinion date was announced, following the parties’ submission of formal answers by December 20, 2024, which was posted in January 2025. These enquiries set the stage for a complex decision by highlighting the conflict between treaty commitments and more general legal responsibilities.

To sum up, the July 23, 2025, ICJ Advisory Opinion will be a turning point in climate jurisprudence. It will balance the claims of wealthy and developing countries and serve as a guide for future litigation and policy, even though it is not legally enforceable. International law and environmental justice may be impacted by the opinion, which might redefine global liability for climate change while the world watches.

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