More than 30 UN special rapporteurs and human rights experts welcomed On Friday, the General Assembly adopted a resolution reaffirming States Parties’ commitments on climate change. This comes a day after the release of a meteorological report suggesting that the Paris Agreement’s long-term climate goals are achievable despite temporary breaches.
According to the statement, 141 states voted to implement the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion through greater multilateral cooperation. The experts reiterate the human rights obligation of states to maintain a healthy environment and the procedural requirements to ensure meaningful participation by all. They also highlighted its importance given global fuel and food insecurity in the current geopolitical context.
The experts support this Inquiry that the Secretary-General prepare a report on the measures that States Parties may take to comply with their obligations under the Opinion. They demand that the upcoming climate negotiations must be based on the statement.
Although there is neither the report nor the decision legally bindingThey serve as important evidence for the world court determine Customary international law and interpretation of related treaties.
Efforts to implement the report can be observed worldwide. UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, Astrid Puentes Riaño, confirmed On Friday she announced that Australia’s Federal Court had allowed her to testify in court as an intervener in the government’s judicial review permit to extend the lifespan Northwest shelf Project – a site for the operation of liquefied natural gas. This is the first time a UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment has been admitted to an Australian court. At the beginning of January, a Dutch court also confirmed that the UN climate treaties were binding for the country.
One day before the declaration Great Britain Met Office reports that it is 91 percent probability that the global average temperature will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in the next five years. This standard is set by the Paris Agreement, which, according to the opinion of the World Court, is legally binding for all contracting states. The report also warned of changing rainfall patterns and accelerated warming in the Arctic. Despite the temporary overshoot, the UN maintains that the long-term climate goals of the agreement continue to be achievable. This is consistent with a November 2025 report that the world is still capable return to fall below the benchmark by 2100 if countries act with “the highest possible ambition”.
