On July 23, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a historic Advisory Opinion on climate justice, marking a transformative turning point in the global struggle for climate justice. This opinion, delivered at the request of the United Nations General Assembly and led by Vanuatu with the support of Nepal and many other countries, declared that all states have binding legal obligations under international law to prevent climate harm and to protect the rights of both present and future generations.
For Nepal, a nation that has contributed negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions yet bears the brunt of the climate crisis, this ruling is not just historic, it is deeply personal and profound. The ICJ’s opinion grants international legal recognition to the lived pain of millions of Nepalis who have long suffered from the consequences of a crisis they did not cause.
Climate change is beyond environmental emergency
In this critical moment of global legal cooperation, Nepal for the first time presented its case before the ICJ, articulating its position with urgency and moral clarity. As a country facing melting glaciers, rising temperatures, recurrent floods and landslides, desertification, drying water sources, and declining agricultural productivity, Nepal highlighted the lived realities of communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Nepal’s presentation revealed the truth that climate change is not just an environmental emergency but a grave human rights injustice inflicted upon communities with minimal responsibility for the crisis.
Addressing the Court in The Hague on behalf of Nepal, Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba powerfully articulated this injustice. “We are suffering for mistakes we did not make. We are paying the price for crimes we did not commit,” she stated. Her voice represented pain of all nations whose people are disproportionately bearing the burden of a crisis created by others.
The Court’s opinion affirmed that obligations under climate-specific treaties like the Paris Agreement are only part of a broader international legal framework. It recognized that states are also bound by existing international law, including international human rights law, the law of the sea, and general principles of environmental protection. Particularly, the ICJ declared that states are legally obliged not only to prevent climate-related harm within their own borders but also to take steps to prevent cross-border environmental and climate-related damage affecting other countries.
The ICJ’s advisory opinion aligns with the values enshrined in Nepal’s constitution, which guarantees the right to live in a healthy environment, as a fundamental right. This global legal recognition strengthens that national right, giving Nepal a more powerful legal foundation to lead on climate justice, demand accountability, promote climate-resilient development, and seek relief, compensation, and international cooperation for irreversible damage experienced by its communities.
Historic opinion
One of the most powerful aspects of the Court’s decision is its clear legal recognition of intergenerational justice. The ICJ explicitly affirmed that states have legal responsibilities not only toward the present generation but also toward future generations. This principle has long guided Indigenous communities around the world, including in Nepal, communities that see the environment not merely as a resource but as a shared legacy from their ancestors, to be responsibly handed down to their descendants.
The ICJ’s opinion also dismantles the long-held notion that “only states are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.” It unequivocally states that governments are legally obligated to regulate private actors, especially multinational corporations and industries that significantly contribute to the climate crisis. This opens the avenue to effectively regulating extractive industries, fossil fuel investments, and environmentally destructive practices that have so far operated with minimal legal oversight.
Although the ICJ’s advisory opinion is not legally binding like a judgment in a contentious case, its legal status and moral weight are immense. It provides governments, civil society, communities, and individuals with a powerful legal tool to demand stronger climate action and accountability. The opinion reinforces the global legal foundation for pursuing climate-related litigation and defines state inaction on climate change as a violation of international law.
This historic opinion is the result of decades of collective efforts by climate justice advocates around the world. It reflects the determination of youth-led movements, ongoing legal advocacy, extensive research, relentless grassroots struggles, and countless voices from the most affected regions and communities. For Nepal too, this achievement is the outcome of a shared commitment: the sustained efforts of legal experts, researchers, community leaders, youth activists, and policymakers who have worked for decades to bring Nepal’s climate realities to the global stage.
Beginning of a new era
Their collective effort has ensured that the stories of melting glaciers, displaced farmers, desertified lands, vanishing forests, and drying water sources are not seen merely as tragic consequences of a warming planet but as clear evidence of human rights violations and a denial of justice. The ICJ has now acknowledged this compelling narrative of responsibility, built through international forums, public campaigns, academic research, and legal documentation.
The ICJ’s opinion comes at a critical time when the climate crisis is intensifying. It offers renewed hope that law long seen as a slow and impartial tool can be a powerful instrument for transformation. It also reminds the world that climate action is not just a matter of goodwill or choice, it is a legal duty and a moral obligation.
For Nepal, this is a moment for self-reflection, a time to commit to climate leadership, and an opportunity to act decisively for concrete outcomes. It means using legal mechanisms to demand financial relief for climate loss and damage, investing in adaptation and resilience, holding polluters accountable, and steering national development in a just and sustainable direction.
The journey from developing nations to the halls of the International Court of Justice has been difficult and full of challenges. But today, as the world’s highest court has spoken in favor of justice, countries like Nepal have been emboldened with new purpose, dignity, and legal strength.
This is not the end of the struggle but it may be the beginning of a new era in which long-ignored justice becomes a clear and powerful force in shaping our climate future.
