The Role of the International Court of Justice in Addressing Climate Change: Some Preliminary Reflections

Abstract

What role might international adjudication play in addressing climate change? Thus far, the international climate change regime has developed primarily through negotiations, marked most recently by the adoption of the Paris Agreement and decisions by the Montreal Protocol parties and the International Civil Aviation Organization to address hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and aviation emissions respectively, two very rapidly growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the Trump Administration's repudiation of the Paris Agreement, it remains our best hope of addressing climate change internationally. But adjudication could also play a constructive role, not as a substitute for the negotiations but as a complement. The essay explores the relationship between adjudication and negotiation, and how an ICJ advisory opinion could work with rather than against the grain of the negotiations.

Keywords: climate change, Paris Agreement, adjudication, international environmental law

JEL Classification: K32, K33