Using the power of the law to respond to the climate crises

The report advocates for the use of legal frameworks to bridge the gap between climate ambition and action following the COP28 Global Stocktake. It calls for the enactment of comprehensive national framework climate laws by COP30, the operationalisation of the loss and damage fund with a human rights focus, and a legally mandated phase-out of fossil fuels. ClientEarth emphasizes the role of international courts in clarifying state obligations and suggests adopting demand-reduction strategies for fossil fuels similar to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to combat greenwashing.

• The COP28 Global Stocktake indicates that global emissions are not aligned with the mitigation pathways required to limit warming to 1.5°C, and that a lack of political will, rather than finance or technology, is the primary obstacle.
• ClientEarth recommends that states implement comprehensive national framework climate laws by COP30 to provide a legal basis for Paris Agreement commitments, including binding interim and long-term targets for absolute greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
• There are three critical pending advisory opinions from international courts—the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR)—that will clarify state legal obligations regarding climate change.
• The loss and damage fund requires full operationalisation with human rights placed at its core to ensure climate justice and remedy for affected communities.

APA

ClientEarth (n.d.). Using the power of the law to respond to the climate crises. https://www.clientearth.org/media/blke3uu3/ce_report_v4.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Using the power of the law to respond to the climate crises. n.d. https://www.clientearth.org/media/blke3uu3/ce_report_v4.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Using the power of the law to respond to the climate crises |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/blke3uu3/ce_report_v4.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearthndusing, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Using the power of the law to respond to the climate crises}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/blke3uu3/ce_report_v4.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }