The International Court of Justice

 

The Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter, which was signed in 1945 in San Francisco (United States), and began work in 1946 in the Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands).

 

The Court has a twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes between States submitted to it by them and, second, to give advisory opinions on legal matters referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. (Source: www.icj-cij.org)

 

 

On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed that states have an "obligation to prevent significant damage to the environment” and must "cooperate in good faith” to curb climate change. Climate change, Judge Iwasawa Yuji emphasized, constitutes an "urgent and existential threat,” whose "serious and far-reaching effects […] affect both natural ecosystems and human populations.” ICJ now establishes a robust legal framework based on customary international law, human rights, the law of the sea, and several key treaties, including the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement.

 

"At the heart of the opinion is one certainty: the complexity of the climate crisis cannot be used as an excuse for inaction. The obligation to prevent climate change requires states to take "appropriate,” "substantial,” "rapid,” and "sustainable” measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The precautionary principle applies in full: "the absence of absolute scientific certainty must not be used as an excuse” for inaction, the court ruled.”

 

Against this backdrop, I hope countries remember the many opportunities to reduce greenhouse gases through sustainable waste management. The potential of waste management between 2022 and 2030 is often overlooked. I would be happy to share the detailed calculations converted to GWP20.

 

If we work together and give it our all, we can come close.

 

Yours, 

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