Jul 24, 2025
(July 24, 2025) The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion this week finding that all nations are obligated to act to reduce climate-damaging emissions or they can be subject to paying reparations for the damage they cause. In a statement from the bench, ICJ president Yuji Iwasawa said that the U.N. had recognized that human rights and the environment were related and that several nations had passed laws based on this premise.
In response, Shantha Ready Alonso, Executive Director of the America the Beautiful for All Coalition said:
“For decades, corporate polluters have acted with impunity to exploit Indigenous and colonized communities with an expectation that those least responsible for the climate crisis would shoulder the burden of impacts. Today’s ruling is a profound step toward climate justice for communities throughout the world and island nations in particular, giving them a recourse to seek compensation for the devastating toll runaway climate change is taking. It is also a signal to our current United States Congress and Administration that whether or not our country withdraws from international environmental agreements like the París Agreement, they will still be held accountable by the international community for their aggressive and reckless plans to mine, drill and burn more fossil fuels than our climate can safely sustain.”
The America the Beautiful For All Coalition is comprised of hundreds of organizations representing millions of Americans who unite under a shared agenda to build shared power that conserves our water, land and wildlife for future generations. For more information, contact the coalition’s communications contractor, Tony Iallonardo.
