New Standards in Government Framework Litigation: Legal Implications of the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change

In its long-awaited advisory opinion on climate change, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) made a range of landmark findings on States’ obligations to address the climate crisis and the consequences of failing to do so. The pronouncements from the world’s highest court will now serve as immediate authoritative guidance […]

When tracking corporate climate conduct, do we focus too much on emissions?

  This blog is the first in a three-part series on sustainable finance metrics that better evaluate corporate climate risk, opportunity, and impact, and make metrics more relevant to financial decision-making. Corporate climate practices have matured for over a decade, creating a specialized industry of experts evaluating climate performance within […]

Sea-Level Rise Reaches The Hague: Findings in Relation to the Law of the Sea in the ICJ’s Climate Change Advisory Opinion

The advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 23 July 2025 marks a pivotal moment in the articulation of States’ obligations concerning climate change. While based on broader rules and principles of international law, the opinion foregrounded the United Nations Convention on the Law of the […]

Human Rights in the ICJ’s Climate Opinion: A Comparative Evaluation

This summer has seen two major climate advisory opinions published – first from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and then from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Both opinions address human rights law, embedding human rights in a broader overarching framework of international law that also includes international […]

Sabin Center Files Amicus Brief to Support States and Local Governments in Federal Funding Freeze Case

Last Friday, July 25, the Sabin Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) in support of the Plaintiff States in the case New York v. Trump. The case, brought by twenty-two states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. District Court for […]

The Ruling and the Mirror: The ICJ’s Climate Change Advisory Opinion as Institutional Self-Portrait

On July 24, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its long-awaited advisory opinion on climate change. Reactions have been swift and enthusiastic. Some of the excitement arguably stems less from the content of the ruling than from the sheer scale of the process itself. The list of individuals […]

What the Court Didn’t Say: The ICJ’s Climate Opinion and the Politics of Judicial Restraint

The advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change has already been hailed as a historic contribution to the evolving body of case-law on climate-related international law. The opinion was described as a “historic legal victory for small island […]

World’s Highest Court Embraces the Right to a Healthy Environment

For the second time in a month, one of the world’s highest judicial authorities has issued an advisory opinion on the climate crisis that highlights the importance of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Echoing the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in its Advisory Opinion 32/25, […]