What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmentally Harmful Subsidies?

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development explains that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change establishes a legal imperative for states to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and other environmentally harmful financial support.

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change has transformed the removal of fossil fuel subsidies from a political commitment into a legal obligation, requiring states to use all available power to protect the climate, though responsibilities are weighed against a state's resources and capabilities.
• While the ICJ ruling explicitly named fossil fuel subsidies, the reasoning applies to other climate-harmful financial supports, including agricultural subsidies, meaning states must phase out all domestic financial support that threatens the environment to mitigate legal risk.
• Governments currently spend more than USD 2 trillion every year on subsidies that negatively impact nature and the climate, and have failed to meet previous pledges to phase them out.
• To reduce legal risk and ensure compliance, the document recommends that states track and document harmful financial support for transparency, phase out subsidies gradually (utilizing periods of low oil prices for fossil fuel reform), reallocate savings toward energy efficiency and green solutions, and use international coordination mechanisms like COFFIS to manage political risks.

APA

Jones,, N. (2026). What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmentally Harmful Subsidies? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmentally-harmful-subsidies

Chicago

Jones,, Natalie. What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmentally Harmful Subsidies? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmentally-harmful-subsidies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jones, |first1=Natalie |title=What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmentally Harmful Subsidies? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=17 March 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmentally-harmful-subsidies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jones2026what, author = {Jones,, Natalie}, title = {{What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmentally Harmful Subsidies?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmentally-harmful-subsidies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }