‘ICJ ruling reinforces India’s call for climate justice but raises bar on domestic action’

New Delhi: The International Court of Justice’s landmark advisory opinion that nations have binding legal obligations to address climate change offers legal reinforcement to India’s long-standing calls for equity, historical responsibility and climate justice while raising the bar for domestic action, experts said on Thursday.

The United Nations’ top court made it clear that countries must pursue their climate targets with the “highest possible ambition” and are expected to progressively enhance them over time.

Issued Wednesday night, the advisory opinion holds that states have binding legal obligations under international law to combat climate change, including protecting people from its harmful effects.

Experts said the ruling is significant for countries like India that have contributed little historically to the climate crisis but face disproportionate impacts.

“This is a landmark ruling. The ICJ has made it unambiguous: climate action is no longer just a political or ethical choice, but a legal obligation,” said Hisham Mundol, Chief Advisor, India at Environmental Defense Fund.

For countries like India, which is representing the Global South, with low historical and per capita emissions but high vulnerability, the ruling is both clarifying and empowering, he said.

Mundol said the opinion recognises differentiated responsibility and strengthens the legal ground for developing nations to press for more ambitious mitigation efforts by historical emitters and for greater financial and technological support.

It reinforces the need for equity in global climate governance and provides a stronger legal foundation for developing nations to demand deeper cuts from historical emitters and greater support, including financing, for green transition, adaptation, and loss and damage, he said.

He added that the ruling also offers a pathway for countries like India to frame future global negotiations and finance discussions in both legal and scientific terms.

“At the same time, it challenges countries like India to lead with credible, ambitious climate action that doesn’t compromise development priorities,” Mundol said.

Shailendra Yashwant, senior advisor with Climate Action Network South Asia, said India’s consistent focus on equity and climate justice at global platforms, including the ICJ hearings, finds recognition in the advisory opinion but also comes with sharper expectations.

“In my opinion, India has consistently emphasised equity, historical responsibility and the need for climate justice in global forums, including at the ICJ hearings. The ICJ ruling does not erase these principles but clarifies that all countries must act, though the weight of action may differ,” he said.

India’s arguments that those with historically negligible emissions should not shoulder equal burdens remain recognised, but cannot justify inaction or weak targets, Yashwant said.

“The ICJ ruling reiterates that such discretion is now constrained by the principles of ‘progression’ and ‘highest possible ambition’, reinforcing that every country’s targets are subject to global scrutiny and international legal expectations.”

He said the opinion presents India with an opportunity to reassess its climate strategy, deepen domestic implementation and use its leadership to push for a fairer global climate finance architecture.

India was among more than 50 countries and institutions that presented oral and written submissions during the ICJ hearings in The Hague earlier this year. It argued that the responsibility to address climate change “should be seen in the light of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”.