In 2021, World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WY4CJ) won the Basel PACEY Award (Peace, nuclear Abolition and Climate Engaged Youth) for what may have seemed to some as an improbable project – moving the world’s highest court to affirm stringent legal obligations of countries to quickly cut Greenhouse Gas emissions in order to protect the climate, and obligations to provide redress to those communities most impacted by climate change.
The PACEY Award helped WY4CJ to build an effective global campaign. It took a few years to firstly get the case into the court, as an Advisory Opinion requested by the UN General Assembly, and then for the proceedings to run their course (with considerable input from youth) and reach a conclusion. But the historic decision delivered by the Court yesterday makes it all worthwhile.
The ICJ has outlined and affirmed a comprehensive set of stringent legal obligations requiring States to exercise due diligence to ensure climate protection, undertake enhanced action on National Determined Contributions (to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions) and strengthen international cooperation to protect the climate. The ICJ also affirmed legal obligations requiring the States most responsible for Greenhouse Gas emissions (Annex 1 countries) to provide redress to States and communities most impacted by climate change, particularly developing countries.
For more analysis of this groundbreaking case, see The World Court affirms a comprehensive set of stringent legal obligations regarding climate Change (UNFOLD ZERO), Top UN court says treaties compel wealthy nations to curb global warming (Reuters), Top UN court says countries can sue each other over climate change (BBC) and Top UN court singles out fossil fuels as part of states’ climate duty (The Guardian).
And join us in Basel on August 14 for The Good Future Forum, which will include a panel on Climate Change and Future Generations featuring Henrieke Bünger, Europe Front Coordinator for World Youth for Climate Justice, and Kasha Slavner, Director and Producer of 1.5 Degrees of Peace, a 2025 PACEY Award winner (in addition to many other inspiring speakers in the other panels).