“Record-Breaking Climate Change Hearings: Landmark Case Before World Court” 

The hearings are part of the process towards the court issuing an advisory opinion, which will clarify States’ legal obligations under international law and the consequences for breaching them.They are scheduled to take place from 2 December until 13 December in the Hague, Netherlands.Here are five things you need to know about the historic proceedings:1.What are the hearings about?The hearings broadly concern the obligations of States with respect to climate change and the legal consequences of these obligations. They are significant because they represent the international community’s efforts to come up with a legal framework for addressing climate change. More simply put, the Court is being asked to provide clarity on international law with respect to climate change. The legal advice it provides may in turn influence any multilateral processes involving climate action.The two central questions asked of the Court are as follows: 1.What are the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic [human caused] emissions of greenhouse gases for States and for present and future generations;2.What are the legal consequences under these obligations for States where they, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment, with respect to:a. States, including, in particular, small island developing States, which due to their geographical circumstances and level of development, are injured or specifically affected by, or are particularly vulnerable to, the adverse effects of climate change?b. Peoples and individuals of the present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change? Children in a Pacific Island stand in an area heavily affected by sea level rise and coastal erosion.2.How did this case come to the ICJ? In September 2021, the Pacific island of Vanuatu announced its intention to seek an advisory opinion from the ICJ on climate change. It explained that this initiative, which had been pushed for by the youth group Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change, was necessitated by its vulnerability and that of other small island developing States to climate change and the need for increased action to address the global climate crisis. Vanuatu then lobbied other countries to support this initiative and formed the core group of UN Member States to take the initiative forward in the General Assembly. The discussions within the core group led to the development of resolution A/RES/77/276, which was eventually adopted by the General Assembly on 29 March 2023. A total of 132 countries co-sponsored the resolution. The resolution drew upon “particular regard” to the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the P