UN Experts Applaud Inter-American Court’s Opinion on Climate and Human Rights

The ruling has been hailed by UN human rights experts as a transformative step in advancing climate justice and environmental protection through the lens of international human rights law.

In a landmark legal and moral turning point, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued a groundbreaking Advisory Opinion recognizing the climate emergency as a threat to fundamental human rights and reinforcing the legal obligations of states to act decisively and inclusively. The ruling has been hailed by UN human rights experts as a transformative step in advancing climate justice and environmental protection through the lens of international human rights law.

The Court’s Advisory Opinion sets out, for the first time with such legal clarity, that states are bound by "reinforced" human rights obligations to address the climate emergency and protect the earth’s life-supporting systems. This legal interpretation establishes a new global standard for climate accountability that extends across borders, generations, and ecosystems.

Climate Change as an Existential Human Rights Threat

UN human rights experts welcomed the Court’s recognition of the climate emergency not just as an environmental issue, but as an existential risk that severely undermines the human rights of both current and future generations. The ruling acknowledges that climate breakdown amplifies existing inequalities, poverty, and discrimination—particularly affecting vulnerable populations such as Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, children, and rural communities.

“We welcome the Court’s recognition of the climate emergency as an existential risk to humanity, severely impacting the human rights of present and future generations,” the experts said. “It exacerbates poverty, discrimination and vulnerabilities.”

States Must Exercise Reinforced Due Diligence

Crucially, the Court emphasized that states are obligated to act with "reinforced" due diligence in preventing irreversible and massive harm to the climate system. This obligation allows for no derogation—meaning no exceptions or excuses, even in times of crisis or conflict. States must take all necessary legal, regulatory, and policy measures to transition toward sustainable development models that enhance human wellbeing while preserving environmental integrity.

This includes:

• Strict regulation and oversight of private sector activities, particularly in the fossil fuel, agriculture, and deforestation sectors;

• Avoidance of unproven technological fixes that lack robust scientific support;

• International cooperation to ensure transboundary harm is addressed and mitigated;

• Integration of science, traditional, and Indigenous knowledge in climate policy.

The Court’s rejection of climate disinformation and regressive policy actions further reinforces its vision of a rights-based approach to climate action that is future-facing, inclusive, and justice-centered.

The Right to a Healthy Environment and Ecosystem Restoration

The Opinion affirms the individual and collective dimensions of the right to a healthy environment, recognizing nature itself as a rights-holder. It aligns with the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which recognized the urgent need to protect and restore ecosystems as a cornerstone of climate mitigation.

The Court called on governments to halt measures that delay climate action, such as the dissemination of misinformation, the harassment of environmental human rights defenders, and discriminatory energy transition practices that exclude vulnerable communities.

Protecting Environmental Human Rights Defenders

Another major aspect of the Opinion is its strong defense of environmental human rights defenders, many of whom face increasing violence, legal harassment, and marginalization in countries around the world. The Court underscores the duty of states to provide intersectional protection, access to justice, and effective remedies for those affected by climate-related harm, including youth and frontline activists.

Global Implementation and Participation Praised

The UN experts urged governments, civil society, businesses, international organizations, and development institutions to support the implementation of the Court’s findings, citing their broad relevance beyond the Inter-American system.

“We commend the Court for leading the most participatory process in the history of any international tribunal,” the experts said. “By opening its doors to Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, rural communities, youth, children and civil society across the globe — and by drawing on the recommendations of over 20 UN human rights experts — the Court set a powerful example of inclusive, global justice.”

A New Blueprint for Climate Justice

With this Advisory Opinion, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has laid down a legal and moral blueprint for how states must act to combat the climate crisis. It offers a compelling vision of accountability and justice grounded not only in science, but in the universal and indivisible nature of human rights.

As the climate emergency accelerates, the Court’s Opinion stands as a beacon of hope—and a call to action.