Climate Policy Brief 30, 18 November 2025
The Role of Advisory Opinions in Shaping International Climate Change Law
By Daniel Uribe Terán
This policy brief analyses how advisory opinions (AOs) from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) are fundamentally reshaping international climate law. These AOs are crystallising States’ climate commitments, transforming them from voluntary political pledges into binding legal obligations grounded in customary international law and human rights. This judicial shift establishes stringent, science-based due diligence standards, confirms State responsibility for harm, and provides a powerful legal foundation for accountability and reparation.