Initiated by Vanuatu, a resolution on the responsibility of countries for climate change was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly and sent to the International Court of Justice in The Hague

With this resolution, the countries of the world ask the International Court of Justice to rule on whether governments have “legal obligations” to protect people from climate hazards and whether failure to comply with these obligations can have “legal consequences”.

The opinion of the international court will not be binding. But, depending on what conclusions the opinion contains, it can change the status of voluntary obligations that each country has assumed under the Paris climate agreement, into legal obligations in accordance with a number of other existing international laws, such as the Declaration of Children Rights or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The ICJ's ruling is expected to help countries take bolder and stronger action to combat climate change and set the stage for lawsuits.