SYDNEY, Thursday, 24 July 2025 – The historic Pacific-led campaign to hold countries accountable for the climate damage they have caused has been backed by the world’s highest court overnight, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered a landmark Advisory Opinion on the obligations of States in the face of the climate emergency.
In a world first, the Court ruled that government actions driving climate change — including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licences or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies — could be illegal and states could be obliged to cut their emissions and compensate vulnerable nations for the harm they have caused.
Mahealani Delaney, Pacific Campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The historic ruling from the world’s highest court could help bring justice to millions of people on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Pacific students spearheaded this landmark climate justice campaign, rallying governments, civil society, and communities around the world to fight for the future of their lands, cultures, and right to self-determination – and won.
“Thanks to the powerful voices and testimonies of climate-impacted communities from all around the world, the ICJ has ruled countries have a legal obligation to protect people from the impacts of climate change — a decision that will change the course of climate action and policy for decades to come, and shape the future of climate litigation worldwide. The court acknowledged that this campaign was unlike anything that had come before, because climate change is far more than a legal problem, it is an existential one.
“The fight for climate justice does not end today. This advisory opinion comes at the midpoint in the critical decade for climate action globally, and as the world breached the critical 1.5°C threshold for the first time on record. Devastating floods, fires and heatwaves are being unleashed on communities around the world, while the global fossil fuel order and bad faith governments double down on drilling, extracting and burning coal, oil and gas. Now, there is a strengthened pathway to hold big polluters to account for the damage they are causing and governments are key to holding them responsible.
“I“In Australia, big polluters like Woodside, Santos and Chevron are fuelling the climate crisis, making mega-profits and not paying their fair share of tax. All the while, communities in Australia and across the Pacific pay the price. The government must make big coal, oil and gas corporations pay their fair share for the damage they are causing, and support communities harmed by climate-driven disasters. Pacific nations continue to lead the world in climate resistance — Australia must throw its support behind the Pacific, and make polluters pay for the climate destruction they cause.”
Flora Vano, Vanuatu Women-Led Community Leader, whose testimony was submitted to the ICJ, said: “Tonight I’ll sleep easier. For the first time, it feels like justice is not just a dream but a direction. The ICJ has recognised what we have lived through – our suffering, our resilience and our right to our future. This is a victory not just for us but for every frontline community fighting to be heard. Now, the world must act.”
In 2023, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, aboard the Rainbow Warrior, sailed to the Pacific, working with communities in Tuvalu, Fiji, and Vanuatu to gather legal testimonies from communities affected by climate change. These were submitted to the ICJ, along with testimonies from other communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
The ICJ’s decision adds to the global momentum towards climate accountability and to the Polluters Pay Pact, a global alliance of over 200,000 people on the frontlines of climate disasters, concerned citizens, first responders like firefighters, humanitarian groups, political leaders, and more than 60 NGOs, including Greenpeace International. It demands that governments worldwide make oil, coal and gas corporations pay their fair share for the damages they cause.
—ENDS—
Images for media use available here and here
Greenpeace documentary on the campaign Journey to Justice
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Greenpeace Australia Pacific: Kimberley Bernard on +61407 581 404 or [email protected] // Greenpeace International: Marie Bout on +33 (0) 6 05 98 70 42 or [email protected]
