<\/p>\n
The United Nations\u2019 highest court on Wednesday underlined \u201cthe urgent and existential threat posed by climate change\u201d as it started to read out an opinion on the legal obligations of states to take action.<\/p>\n
The non-binding opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, is likely to determine the course of future climate action across the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreenhouse gas emissions are unequivocally caused by human activities which are not territorially limited,\u201d Judge Yuji Iwasawa said. The reading of the opinion was ongoing and the court had not yet announced its conclusions.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the ruling, supporters of climate action gathered outside the ICJ, chanting: \u201cWhat do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!\u201d<\/p>\n
Although it is non-binding, the deliberation of the 15 judges of the ICJ in The Hague will nevertheless carry legal and political weight and future climate cases would be unable to ignore it, legal experts say.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is so important, it could be one of the most consequential legal rulings of our times because of the scope of the issues that it touches, which run to the very heart of climate justice,\u201d said Joie Chowdhury, senior attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law.<\/p>\n
The two questions the UN General Assembly asked the judges to consider were: what are countries\u2019 obligations under international law to protect the climate from greenhouse gas emissions; and what are the legal consequences for countries that harm the climate system?<\/p>\n