U.N. General Assembly Passes Resolution on Climate Advisory Opinion

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Wednesday welcoming an advisory opinion on climate change issued last year by the International Court of Justice. The nonbinding opinion followed a 2022 request from the General Assembly that passed unanimously.

The resolution states the findings should be translated into enhanced multilateral cooperation and accelerated climate action consistent with international law. Eight countries, including the United States, voted against the measure, while 39 others abstained.

Islands Students Fighting Climate Change began the effort in 2019. The group worked with island nation governments to build a coalition that secured the 2022 General Assembly request for the advisory opinion. Vishal Prasad, director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, said the campaign demonstrated that young activists can address technical legal issues.

He noted the opinion links climate obligations to human rights law. Jule Schnakenberg, executive director of the World’s Youth for Climate Justice, said young people had lobbied governments worldwide to co-sponsor the resolution. She stated that a third of the global population is younger than 19.

Joie Chowdhury, a senior attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law, said the opinion clarifies that states causing climate harm have a duty to provide full reparation. She noted the opinion has already been cited in court rulings in Brazil and Canada.

The resolution directs the U.N. secretary general to prepare a report and signals broad support for using the opinion in future negotiations. Chowdhury said the vote shows multilateralism remains functional on climate issues. Prasad recalled that the campaign began after repeated category-five cyclones struck Fiji in 2016 and 2017, leaving families without water and electricity for days.