Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 25, 2025 – In a groundbreaking advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, has declared climate change an “urgent and existential threat to humanity,” opening the door for countries to sue each other over climate-related damages, including historic greenhouse gas emissions. For Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, this ruling is a historic step toward climate justice, offering a legal framework to hold high-emission countries accountable for the devastating impacts felt locally.
The ICJ’s ruling, delivered on July 23, 2025, responds to a 2023 UN General Assembly request led by Vanuatu and supported by over 130 countries, including Bangladesh. The court addressed two key questions: the obligations of states under international law to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions and the legal consequences for nations causing significant environmental harm. The unanimous opinion, spanning over 500 pages, asserts that a “clean, healthy, and sustainable environment” is a human right and that failure to address climate change may constitute an “internationally wrongful act.”
For Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation of 170 million people, the ruling resonates deeply. The country faces rising sea levels, intensifying cyclones, and river erosion, which displace thousands annually and threaten livelihoods. Between 2000 and 2019, climate-related economic losses globally reached $2.8 trillion, with Bangladesh bearing a disproportionate burden despite contributing minimally to global emissions. The ICJ’s recognition that developing nations can seek reparations for climate damages, such as destroyed infrastructure, offers hope for addressing these losses.
“Climate-vulnerable countries should adopt an evidence-based joint position on claiming loss and damages using the country legal regime of the Annex 1 countries. Moreover, LDCs should explore applying a carbon tax on the emitting industries so that this fund could be utilized for the protection of nature and community resilience,” said M. Zakir Hossain Khan, Observer for the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF) Trust Fund Committee at the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) by the World Bank.
“The protection of the rights of nature and lives is fundamental to the claim for the enjoyment of human rights. Instead of existing growth-led development and related governance, the Natural Rights-Led Governance (NRLG) is proposed for the sake of the sustainability of planet Earth and its living beings.”
Chief Executive of the Change Initiative & Editor-in-Chief of Nature Insights, M. Zakir Hossain Khan, also mentioned this.
The ICJ emphasized that industrialized nations, historically the largest emitters, bear greater responsibility for curbing emissions and supporting vulnerable countries. Judge Yuji Iwasawa, president of the court, noted that states must comply with “stringent obligations” under international law, regardless of their participation in treaties like the Paris Agreement. This is significant for Bangladesh, which has repeatedly called for financial aid and technology transfers from high-emission countries to adapt to climate impacts.
However, the advisory opinion, while carrying legal and moral weight, is non-binding, and challenges remain. The court acknowledged that attributing specific climate damages to individual countries is complex, requiring case-by-case assessments. Moreover, the ICJ’s jurisdiction for binding rulings is limited to countries like the UK that have agreed to it, excluding major emitters like the US and China. Still, legal experts suggest Bangladesh could leverage the opinion in domestic or international courts, such as US federal courts, to pursue compensation.
“This ruling changes the game,” said Advocate Jamiul Hoque Faisal, a Bangladeshi environmental lawyer. “It provides a legal basis for Bangladesh to seek reparations for climate-induced losses, like the $9 billion adaptation costs faced by small nations like the Marshall Islands.” He highlighted potential lawsuits against companies operating in high-emission countries, as the ICJ noted that states are responsible for corporate actions under their jurisdiction.
The ruling builds on global legal precedents, including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ recent mandate for ecosystem restoration and the European Court of Human Rights’ 2024 ruling for better climate protection. For Bangladesh, these developments reinforce the growing recognition of climate action as a human rights issue. In 2019, the Netherlands’ Supreme Court set a precedent by affirming protection from climate impacts as a human right, a principle now echoed by the ICJ.
Climate activists in Bangladesh are optimistic but cautious. “This is a step forward, but enforcement is the challenge,” said Saidur Rahman Siam, a youth activist from Dhaka and founder & director at Brighters. “We need global cooperation, not just court rulings, to save our homes from sinking.”
As Bangladesh prepares for the upcoming UN climate conference in Belém, Brazil, the ICJ’s opinion strengthens its position to demand more ambitious emissions cuts and financial support. With sea levels rising by 4.3 centimeters globally in the decade to 2023, and higher in parts of the Bay of Bengal, the stakes for Bangladesh are existential. The ruling, hailed as a “watershed legal moment” by the Center for International Environmental Law, offers a tool to amplify Bangladesh’s voice in the fight for a sustainable future.
