In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued its Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, which reinforce climate obligations on States under existing treaties, conventions and protocols. It may open the way for countries to enforce climate obligations on other nations. This is a major step forward for decarbonisation, the acceleration of renewables and a renewed focus on Industrial Revolution 5.0.

The Court adopted the Advisory Opinion unanimously. This is only the fifth time in its nearly 80-year history that it has done so. To date, the Court has issued only 29 advisory opinions and, in this one, it said that countries are legally obliged to curb their emissions and take seriously their obligations to protect the planet and thereby all of its species.

The Advisory Opinion of the ICJ is non-binding but may have wide-ranging consequences. In particular, it is a tool for countries, especially those in the Global South (who are experiencing extreme adverse conditions, largely as a consequence of high-emissions from developed economies if they have failed to abate their impacts) to act in a way they have not been able to do so before.