Countries have a legal duty to fight climate change, says the UN’s World Court

The International Court of Justice has just issued a landmark ruling. It said nations have a duty to stop environmental harm and respect people’s rights to a healthy environment. And that if countries don’t reduce emissions, they could be in breach of international law. The ICJ, also known as the World Court , said climate change is an ‘urgent and existential threat’. It confirmed that global agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, are binding and that even nations who haven’t signed them could still be held accountable.