GENEVA - States at the UN Climate COP30 in Belem, Brazil, must negotiate in good faith in accordance with the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on State obligations on climate change, to prevent further harm to the environment, the climate system and human rights, UN experts* said today. They issued the following joint statement:
"States must urgently and effectively advance the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, as interpreted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), upholding their obligations under international human rights law, customary international law, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Convention on the Law of the Sea. Like the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the ICJ Advisory Opinion confirmed that all States have stringent due diligence obligations to protect the environment and the climate system and prevent further harm, through mitigation, adaptation, as well as conservation and restoration of ecosystems. Such integrated action is essential to prevent and redress disproportionate human rights harm on those in most vulnerable situations, and avoid increasingly widespread negative impacts for all.
Consequently, States must effectively regulate, monitor and control public and private actors in emissions-intensive sectors and ensure meaningful international cooperation. Past and current violations of these obligations entail State responsibility to provide reparations for harm, including revoking all measures that constitute an internationally wrongful act, preventing and responding to loss and damage, restoring ecosystems, and compensating for climate harm. We also remind that business entities have obligations and responsibilities with respect to climate change and their impacts on human rights. These obligations and responsibilities must be implemented in an inclusive and gender-responsive manner, grounded in equality and non-discrimination, recognizing groups that have historically been forced into situations of vulnerability, such as Indigenous Peoples, peasants and persons of African descent, as well as individuals and communities who had to migrate, were displaced or may have to relocate due to climate change impacts, and children.
The credibility of the Climate COP30 as a whole depends on achieving a meaningful outcome on mitigation and international financial and technological cooperation, with specific reference to fossil fuels and related subsidies as the main drivers of climate change and their impacts on human rights, including such as health, economic equality, adequate standard of living, education, cultural rights.
The expected adoption of the Just Transition Work Programme should support States in ensuring that integrated climate action - notably renewables-based economy-wide transformations - are fair and inclusive for workers and communities, and co-developed with them. This is especially relevant in light of the Advisory Opinion findings on State obligations to protect the environment and climate as an integral part of all life-supporting systems on the planet and the human right to a healthy environment. The ICJ confirmed this right to be a 'precondition', 'inherent', and 'essential' for the enjoyment of all human rights in the context of the climate crisis.
We reiterate the need to curb the presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at the Climate COP, and ensure transparency, public participation, meaningful dialogue with civil society, and effective protection of environmental human rights defenders and their associations. These are all necessary conditions for more effective and just climate action."
Read full statement here.
