UN endorses climate ruling despite US opposition

What happened

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted 141-8, with 28 abstentions, to endorse a 2025 International Court of Justice opinion that countries are legally obligated to take steps to fight climate change. That opinion, while “not legally binding,” is “expected to be cited in ‌climate-related ⁠legal cases worldwide,” Reuters said.

Who said what

“The world’s highest court has spoken,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said, and the General Assembly “has answered” with a “powerful affirmation of international law, climate justice, science, and the responsibility of states to protect people from the escalating climate crisis.” The U.S. had engaged in “diplomatic efforts” to derail the resolution, The Associated Press said, and joined other big “oil-producing nations and major greenhouse gas emitters” in voting against it. The “highly problematic” text “includes inappropriate political demands relating to fossil fuels,” U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Tammy Bruce said before the vote.

What next?

While the resolution called for limiting global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, there is “no chance” of meeting that “1.5 to stay alive” goal anymore, the AP said, citing new scientific estimates. But thanks to “increasing use of green energies,” the “worst case scenario” is “no longer plausible,” either.

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