Generally it takes a lawsuit to get issues executed.
Many sustainability specialists say judicial motion is likely one of the strongest instruments civil society can use to drive sustainability outcomes within the close to time period, based on a worldwide survey by Trellis knowledge accomplice by GlobeScan in collaboration with ERM and Volans. This view has gained important traction in gentle of the Worldwide Court docket of Justice’s historic advisory opinion on local weather change issued in July, which declares {that a} clear, wholesome and sustainable surroundings is a elementary human proper.
The ICJ’s landmark ruling affirms that international locations have authorized obligations to forestall environmental hurt below worldwide legislation. Crucially, the ruling finds that states failing to satisfy their local weather commitments are in breach of worldwide legislation and that they need to cooperate to attain concrete emissions discount targets. This reframes local weather motion as a authorized crucial relatively than a coverage choice, and elevates the strategic significance of litigation, authorized methods and accountability mechanisms within the international sustainability agenda.
Alongside authorized avenues, specialists additionally level to schooling and management improvement, coverage advocacy and media scrutiny as high civil society methods to speed up progress. In distinction, much less structured or symbolic approaches, equivalent to NGO campaigns, public protests or boycotts are seen as much less impactful in attaining systemic change.
What this implies
The ICJ’s advisory opinion could also be a turning level for local weather justice. Though technically not legally binding, it sends a robust message that would reshape worldwide local weather negotiations and jurisprudence. For the greater than 3,000 pending local weather lawsuits globally, the ICJ’s affirmation of authorized obligations provides contemporary momentum and potential authorized precedent for holding governments and companies accountable.
For companies and policymakers, this implies local weather litigation threat is rising. The advisory opinion might also affect the tone of negotiations at COP30, fueling elevated stress for enforceable targets and local weather finance for susceptible international locations.
Trying forward, authorized motion might now not be a final resort and will as an alternative develop into a major lever within the sustainability toolbox. Firms could be smart to observe evolving authorized norms, proactively align with worldwide commitments and embed local weather threat into their governance and technique earlier than courts and public stress power their hand.
Based mostly on a survey of 844 sustainability practitioners throughout 72 international locations performed April-Might 2025.
