Australia could face international legal action over its fossil fuel production and failure to rapidly cut emissions, Vanuatu's climate minister has warned, following a landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The opinion, published on Wednesday, found that countries have a binding legal obligation to prevent climate change and aim to limit global heating to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, and that high-emitting countries failing to act could be liable to pay restitution to low-emitting nations.
The case was initiated by law students in Vanuatu and referred to the ICJ by the UN General Assembly in 2023, with support from 130 countries including Australia. Vanuatu's climate change minister, Ralph Regenvanu, said the opinion gives Pacific island nations 'much greater leverage' in climate talks and in dealings with partners such as Australia. He told ABC Radio National that litigation is 'definitely' an option, stating: 'According to the advisory ... Australia is committing internationally wrongful acts as it is sponsoring and subsidising fossil fuel production and excessive emissions.'
The ICJ, represented by a panel of 15 judges, rejected arguments from Australia, the US and China that countries' obligations were limited to the Paris Agreement and UN climate framework. Instead, it found binding obligations under international human rights law, the law of the sea and customary international law. The court said countries could be found liable if they fail to address fossil fuel production, consumption, subsidies and exploration licences.
Dean Bialek, an international lawyer and former lead climate negotiator for island nations, described the opinion as 'unusually robust' with 'hugely significant' ramifications for Australia. He said the court's confirmation of the 1.5°C goal means Australia should set a 2035 emissions reduction target in the 'mid to high 70s' (at least 75% below 2005 levels). Bialek added that the opinion makes it 'inescapable' that the Albanese government must include a 'climate trigger' in national environment law reforms and intensify diplomatic efforts to host the COP31 UN climate summit with the Pacific.
Retta Berryman, senior lawyer at Environmental Justice Australia, said the opinion would help measure the ambition of the government's upcoming climate commitments and is a 'clear statement of the evolving legal standards around climate change'. Australian National University associate professor Siobhan McDonnell, a lawyer and climate adviser to Vanuatu, called the opinion 'historic' for stating that all states have international human rights obligations, including the right to a clean and safe environment. Australian Greens leader Larissa Waters said the ruling makes clear that 'every one of Labor's new coal or gas approvals risks Australia being legally liable for the climate consequences'.
