What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmental Impact Assessments?

The ICJ has ruled that end-use emissions from burning extracted fossil fuels must be factored into environmental impact assessments (EIAs). To mitigate legal risks, states are advised to update regulations to account for all downstream and Scope 3 emissions, regardless of whether production would have occurred elsewhere. The brief recommends that these emissions be assessed cumulatively and in alignment with global climate objectives.

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that environmental impact assessments (EIAs) must now include the end-use emissions resulting from the burning of extracted fossil fuels.
• The ICJ's ruling has already influenced at least two national and regional court judgments within six months, specifically concerning the calculation of anticipated end-use emissions for new oil fields.
• To reduce legal risk, states should update their laws, guidance, and regulations to ensure that all Scope 3 and downstream emissions are accounted for in EIAs.
• The document recommends that the assessment of end-use emissions should not be dismissed based on the argument that market demand would be met by another project if the current proposal did not proceed.
• It is recommended that all fossil fuels from a proposed project be assumed to be combusted to prevent companies from making unsubstantiated claims, and that these emissions be assessed cumulatively within a global context and against climate objectives.

APA

Jones,, N. (2026). What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmental Impact Assessments? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmental-impact-assessment

Chicago

Jones,, Natalie. What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmental Impact Assessments? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmental-impact-assessment.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jones, |first1=Natalie |title=What Does the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change Mean for Environmental Impact Assessments? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=17 March 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmental-impact-assessment |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 Environmental Impact Assessments?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/brief/icj-advisory-opinion-environmental-impact-assessment}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }