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This policy brief analyzes the July 2025 International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, specifically focusing on how it transforms climate change adaptation from a voluntary domestic policy choice into a legally binding international obligation.

This policy brief analyzes the July 2025 International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change, specifically focusing on how it affects the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). The document argues that the ICJ rejected the 'lex specialis' doctrine, ruling instead that climate obligations are integrated with other environmental treaties, human rights law, and customary international law.

This briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 2025 Advisory Opinion (AO) on climate change. It specifically examines how the AO's findings on State obligations—including the duty to prevent harm, stringent due diligence, and the precautionary principle—can be used to challenge reliance on speculative climate interventions (such as geoengineering and carbon capture) and offset-based mitigation measures that may delay the phase-out of fossil fuels.

This briefing note analyzes the implications of the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 2025 advisory opinion on States' obligations to prevent environmental harm, specifically focusing on the financing of climate-destructive conduct. It outlines how the ICJ's findings can be used in litigation to challenge public and private funding of the fossil fuel sector and to enforce obligations for climate finance in developing nations.

This briefing, produced by a coalition of climate litigation practitioners, provides structured 'Litigation Notes' to help lawyers integrate the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 23, 2025, advisory opinion (AO) on States' climate obligations into legal cases. This specific note focuses on corporate conduct, detailing how the ICJ AO establishes State duties to regulate private actors, particularly in the fossil fuel industry, to prevent significant environmental harm.

This litigation note, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in February 2026, provides a guide for legal practitioners to integrate the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 23, 2025, advisory opinion (AO) on climate change into government framework litigation. It specifically focuses on 'Ambition Gap' and 'Implementation Gap' cases, detailing how the ICJ's findings on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), due diligence, and human rights can be used to challenge insufficient government climate policies.

This guide, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in February 2026, provides a structured digest of key excerpts from the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) unanimous advisory opinion (AO) delivered on 23 July 2025 regarding States' obligations in relation to climate change. The document is designed as a practical tool for climate litigation practitioners to integrate the ICJ's normative clarity into domestic, regional, and international legal cases.

This briefing paper argues for the adoption of a United Nations legally binding instrument (LBI) to regulate transnational corporations as a structural lever for environmental justice. It highlights the failure of voluntary frameworks to ensure corporate accountability for ecological destruction and human rights abuses, proposing that a binding treaty would operationalize the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment through mandatory due diligence, extraterritorial jurisdiction, and effective remediation.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) describes a due diligence screening tool developed with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help agribusinesses align investments with the Committee on World Food Security's Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI).

This legal memorandum by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the May 21, 2024, advisory opinion (AO) from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) regarding States' obligations to protect oceans from climate change. The document details how the ITLOS AO defines anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as marine pollution under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and discusses the implications of this ruling for ongoing climate advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

This research paper by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes proposed trade-related legislation from the European Union and the United Kingdom designed to reduce commodity-driven deforestation and forest degradation through mandatory due diligence requirements.

The UK Soy Manifesto is a collective industry commitment to ensure that all physical shipments of soy imported into the UK are free from deforestation and conversion. Signatories commit to implementing these standards immediately where possible, and no later than 2025, using a cut-off date of January 2020 for deforestation and conversion.