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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 briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and partners examines the application of the Polluter-Pays Principle (PPP) to the PFAS pollution crisis. It argues that current implementation in the EU is inconsistent and that a comprehensive strategy is needed to shift the staggering financial burden of remediation and health costs from the public to the producers and users of PFAS.

This policy brief examines the polluter-pays principle (PPP), which requires pollution producers to bear the costs of managing and preventing environmental and human health damage. While established in European Union and OECD frameworks, the PPP faces challenges in universal international application due to ambiguities in defining 'the polluter' and differing national legal systems. The document explores the PPP's intersection with international climate change law, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), and efforts by global financial institutions to implement carbon pricing.