THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations’ top court announced Friday that public hearings will be held on Dec. 2 in a landmark case seeking a non-binding advisory opinion on “state obligations in relation to climate change.”
The UN General Assembly referred the case to the International Court of Justice last year, with Secretary-General António Guterres saying at the time that he hoped the ruling would encourage countries “to take the bold and more robust climate action our world desperately needs.”
The court said it had received written submissions from 62 countries and organizations on 91 written statements on the issue it had previously received. Under court rules, the written submissions are confidential. The court may decide to make them public once hearings begin in early December.
The UN panel of 15 judges from around the world will attempt to answer two questions: What are countries obligated to do under international law to protect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? And what are the legal consequences for governments when their actions or inaction have caused significant harm to the climate and the environment?
The second question refers specifically to “small island developing States” that are likely to be hit hardest by climate change and to “members of present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change.”
It is not yet clear how many countries and organizations will attempt to speak at the public hearings or how long they will last. Once they are completed, judges will likely need months to consider all the legal arguments and issue their opinions.
The case at the International Court of Justice follows a number of rulings by other judges and courts around the world calling on governments to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In May, a UN maritime tribunal ruled that carbon emissions constitute marine pollution and that countries must take measures to limit and adapt to their harmful effects.
The ruling came a month after Europe’s highest human rights court ruled that countries must better protect their populations from the effects of climate change. The landmark ruling could have implications for the entire continent.
The International Court of Justice is based in The Hague, where Dutch courts made history by ruling that protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change is a human right and that governments have a duty to protect their citizens. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2019.
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