<h6>Eduardo González</h6> <h4><strong>The Spanish government welcomed this Thursday the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which warns that States have an "obligation" to combat climate change.</strong></h4> "Spain welcomes the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States regarding climate change," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement. The Court, it continues, "points out that climate change treaties oblige States parties to guarantee the protection of the climate and the environment from greenhouse gas emissions." It also "determines that a State's failure to comply with its climate obligations constitutes an internationally wrongful act that may give rise to an obligation to provide reparation to the affected States," it added. According to the Foreign Office, "Spain participated in the proceedings, arguing that the obligation to prevent damage caused by climate change is part of the obligations of States under international law." “Spain also defended the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment,” added the Department headed by José Manuel Albares. In its opinion, issued this Wednesday, the ICJ finds that climate change is an existential “universal risk” caused “unequivocally” by human activity and that Member States have a “duty” to prevent climate change by adopting measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, the UN’s highest judicial body calls for an end to fossil fuel subsidies, a ban on new exploration, and no further extraction licenses. The advisory opinion also urges the States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to comply with the relevant provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, to pursue—based on the provisions of the Paris Agreement—the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C, and to fulfill their obligations regarding adaptation and cooperation, including technology transfer and financing, “all in good faith.” The International Court of Justice also warns that the violation of any of these obligations "constitutes an internationally wrongful act for which the offending State shall be held responsible." The advisory opinion, the first on the ICJ's climate since its creation, was issued following a request submitted in 2023 by more than 190 countries to the United Nations General Assembly.
