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This guide, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in February 2026, provides structured 'Litigation Notes' to help lawyers integrate the findings of the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 23, 2025, Advisory Opinion (AO) on State obligations regarding climate change into current and future legal cases. The document breaks down the ICJ's conclusions into thematic areas, including government framework litigation, adaptation, remedies and reparations, the right to a healthy environment, corporate conduct, climate finance, speculative interventions, and regulatory backsliding. It aims to translate the ICJ's normative clarity into practical tools for promoting climate justice across national, regional, and international courts.

This guide provides a series of structured 'Litigation Notes' designed to help legal practitioners integrate the findings of the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 23, 2025, Advisory Opinion (AO) on States' obligations regarding climate change into domestic, regional, and international court cases. The document breaks down the ICJ AO by key themes—including government framework cases, adaptation, remedies and reparations, the right to a healthy environment, corporate conduct, climate financing, speculative interventions, and regulatory rollbacks—providing specific excerpts from the opinion and illustrating their application through existing and potential litigation categories.

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.

Plan 1.5 criticizes the South Korean government's 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for setting a lower bound that fails to meet constitutional and international legal responsibilities for the 1.5°C climate goal.

A declaration by Indonesian youth, read at the Pesta Energi Bersih Berkeadilan in Yogyakarta, demanding a just energy transition that prioritizes human rights and local ecosystems over corporate profit and resource exploitation.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes a July 23, 2025, advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding States' obligations to address climate change. The ruling, adopted unanimously by 15 judges, establishes that States have binding obligations under international law to protect the climate system, phase out fossil fuels, and provide reparations for climate damage.

A joint statement by five environmental and health organizations providing recommendations to the Government of Canada to strengthen the draft Implementation Framework for the Right to a Healthy Environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) analyzes the 2023 activities of UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies (HRTBs) regarding states' human rights obligations in the context of climate change. It tracks the increasing frequency of climate-related references in state reporting procedures and examines specific themes such as fossil fuel extraction, the right to a healthy environment, loss and damage, and intergenerational equity.

The Maastricht Principles on The Human Rights of Future Generations is a statement adopted on 3 February 2023 that clarifies the application of international law to the human rights of generations not yet born. It establishes a framework of state obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil these rights, emphasizing the necessity of intergenerational justice, the principle of trusteeship over Earth's natural systems, and the role of Indigenous Peoples' knowledge in ensuring long-term sustainability.

A statement by Jean McLean of the Green Economy Coalition emphasizing the critical role of youth activists in addressing climate, environmental, and economic crises, while calling for greater intergenerational collaboration to ensure the burden of change does not fall solely on the younger generation.

This case study describes a decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on April 15, 2021, which upheld a Punjab provincial government notification banning the construction or expansion of cement plants in environmentally fragile "Negative Areas."

A case study on the legal challenge Neubauer et al. v. Germany, in which the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that parts of the Federal Climate Protection Act were incompatible with fundamental rights because they failed to specify sufficient emission cuts beyond 2030.

This report by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) examines youth climate advocacy in Africa, focusing on the roles of civil society, government, and international networks. It documents how young people are transitioning from symbolic participants to active agents of change through networking, social media, and policy engagement, while highlighting the systemic barriers—such as the digital divide and tokenism—that hinder meaningful intergenerational equity in climate governance.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law argues that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should apply the full spectrum of international law—including human rights, the law of the sea, and customary law—to determine State obligations regarding climate change. It counters arguments from 'big polluters' who claim that the UN climate regime (UNFCCC and Paris Agreement) is the sole relevant legal framework and that its obligations are merely procedural. The document asserts that States have longstanding duties to prevent transboundary environmental harm and protect human rights, which necessitates a phase-out of fossil fuels and the provision of reparations for climate-related injuries.

This 1991 draft working paper by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines how the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) can operationalize its commitment to "environmentally sound and sustainable development." The authors argue that sustainable development requires a shift from short-term economic growth to a broader concept of development that values natural wealth, ensures intergenerational equity, and utilizes comprehensive environmental accounting and project appraisal mechanisms.

This zine documents a cross-regional exchange between young environmental activists from Africa and Europe conducted by Friends of the Earth International between 2016 and 2018. It provides reflections on environmental justice, the impact of colonialism, and the challenges of building an inclusive, intergenerational movement, while offering practical educational tools for activists.

This report documents the outcomes of an interregional exchange between young activists from Friends of the Earth (FoE) Africa and Europe conducted between 2016 and 2018. The project aimed to strengthen the youth movement for environmental justice through 14 exchange trips, two regional meetings, and three interregional encounters, focusing on inclusivity, interregional solidarity, and the dismantling of systemic oppressions such as colonialism and patriarchy.

This case study by Natural Justice details a legal action brought by 25 children and young adults against the Colombian government and 14 municipalities regarding deforestation in the Colombian Amazon. The Colombia Supreme Court ruled on April 5, 2018, recognizing the Colombian Amazon as a subject of rights and ordering the government to implement action plans to reach net-zero deforestation by 2020.

This briefing, compiled by the Human Rights in Biodiversity working group, provides guidance on integrating a human rights-based approach (HRBA) into the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). It argues that an HRBA is a necessary condition for equitable and sustained biodiversity conservation and offers specific recommendations to strengthen the GBF's draft text, including explicit references to international human rights law, the protection of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), and the empowerment of women and youth.