TOP ARGUMENTS

The document outlines four key legal disputes from the ICJ climate justice hearings: the scope of governing law beyond the Paris Agreement, the applicability of human rights law to climate mitigation, the duty to prevent transboundary environmental harm, and the legal basis for climate reparations.

• Major polluting states argue that the UN climate regime, specifically the Paris Agreement, is the only relevant international law defining state obligations on climate change and that these commitments are primarily voluntary.
• Polluting states, including the United States, Germany, and Russia, contend that human rights law does not explicitly require GHG emission mitigation or the phasing out of fossil fuels, and they argue that the right to a healthy environment lacks international legal protection.
• Major polluters claim that legal consequences and reparations are not applicable because it is impossible to link a specific state's breach of obligations to specific climate harms, as harms result from cumulative emissions by many states.
• Climate-vulnerable nations and legal experts argue that states have a customary international law obligation to prevent significant transboundary environmental harm, which extends to the global commons of the atmosphere and oceans.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). TOP ARGUMENTS. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CIEL_Climate-Justice-Hearings-ICJ_Analysis_Top-Arguments_Week-1.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. TOP ARGUMENTS. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CIEL_Climate-Justice-Hearings-ICJ_Analysis_Top-Arguments_Week-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=TOP ARGUMENTS |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CIEL_Climate-Justice-Hearings-ICJ_Analysis_Top-Arguments_Week-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndtop, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{TOP ARGUMENTS}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CIEL_Climate-Justice-Hearings-ICJ_Analysis_Top-Arguments_Week-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }