The UN’s highest court has issued a long-anticipated advisory opinion on climate change, in a case brought by island nations seeking legal clarity on state obligations.
A panel of 15 judges delivered the non-binding opinion on Wednesday in The Hague, while protestors outside the court urged governments to take urgent action.
In the decade up to 2023, sea levels rose by a global average of around 4.3 centimetres, with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels.
