Climate Change at the International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice ruling was the result of years of campaigning by a group of law students from the University of the South Pacific and sustained diplomatic efforts led by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Supported by other states vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, Vanuatu formally requested that the UN seek legal clarification on states’ obligations regarding climate and environmental protection from greenhouse gas emissions. 

The court affirmed that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a fundamental human right, critical for protecting all other human rights and ensuring intergenerational equity. Through this ruling, the court emphasised that states have clear duties under international law to:

• Prevent significant harm to the environment and human health caused by climate change.
• Co-operate internationally to tackle cross-border impacts of greenhouse gas emissions. 
• Ensure national climate targets are as ambitious as possible, reflecting the highest scientific standards. 
• Take accountability for historical emissions and provide reparations for loss and damage linked to climate change impacts. 

Wellcome supported this process through a 2023 grant to the Foundation for International Law for the Environment. This funding enabled international collaborations among scientists, diplomats and lawyers to ensure that scientific evidence – particularly from the intersection of climate change and human health – was robustly integrated into countries’ submissions. In the end, 80 percent of all country submissions included reference to the effects of climate change on health. 

Wellcome’s support also amplified the voices of affected communities in climate-vulnerable states, making sure that the lived experiences of those most impacted by climate change were represented in this historic international process. This ruling may prove to be a turning point in international climate law and shows the critical role of cross-disciplinary collaboration that we champion at Wellcome.

In October 2026, Wellcome launched a short film at a UN climate conference in the Pacific Islands to spotlight the collaborative work of the young people, lawyers, scientists and diplomats to achieve the ICJ ruling, and critically to show how it can deliver better health and save lives around the world by operationalising the advisory opinion. 

The film was produced by Open Planet Studios and Wellcome would like to thank everyone who contributed and supports the film. 

In particular, we would like to thank the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change and Felix Golenko for generously sharing their stories and content for the All Rise! film and most importantly for their courage and conviction to drive action on climate change and health. 

Find out more about The Witness Stand: A series of films produced by the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change to gather voices and messages from around the world to ensure that the ongoing International Court of Justice advisory opinion proceedings on climate change are inclusive and representative of those most affected. Watch the films here. 

Find out about YUMI – The whole world: A story of three law students, Solomon, Vishal and Romabeth, who set out from the University of the South Pacific on an amazing journey to take climate change to the world’s highest court through the United Nations. The film is directed by Felix Golenko who has documented the stories of the Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change.