The International Court of Justice is often viewed as the world’s main judicial institution. Recently it has taken a historic step by issuing an advisory opinion which declares that states have legal obligations to mitigate climate change under international law. This decision, which was brought forth by a coalition of Pacific Island nations and supported by over 130 UN member …

Background The environment and inflicting damage on the environment as a means or method of warfare is not new. Manipulating environmental conditions, such as instigating floods or using chemicals to harm the environment has existed throughout the decades. Indeed, deliberately inflicting harm on the environment can have considerable consequences in wartime especially on the civilian population and has been the …

Background  Holding states responsible for failures to take adequate or sufficient action in order to limit the effects of climate change is an increasing litigation trend perceivable in multiple jurisdictions including the Netherlands, the United States, Germany and France. The most successful manifestation of this trend is arguably the Urgenda case, in which a Dutch Court ordered the Dutch government to cut …

The global push towards a sustainable future has led to an increased emphasis on phasing out fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy sources. Whilst from an environmental perspective such a step seems necessary, thus inevitable, the complex geopolitical consequences of phasing out fossil fuels present a great obstacle. Unsurprisingly, one of the most significant geopolitical consequences of phasing out …

Reducing carbon emissions is of utmost importance in addressing the global climate crisis and achieving a sustainable future. Carbon emissions, primarily generated by the burning of fossil fuels, contribute significantly to the greenhouse effect and climate change. The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leads to rising temperatures, extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and ecological disruptions. By actively reducing …

Climate Change action has been one of the most touched topics within the EU, one of the target areas to ensure that there is a lowering of emission levels is in agriculture as it provides high levels of nitrogen emissions which cause environmental problems. As an adaptive measure, the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) was provided by the EU, in turn …

This article provides a summarized analysis the great challenge of cleaning the oceans from plastic and the central role it plays in climate change action, focusing on the Pacific Ocean and on the international cooperation efforts that are currently taking place there and on what can be additionally done in terms of international cooperation in the pacific to create more …

The creation of electric lithium batteries that are light in weight and have the capacity to power vehicles and machines has made lithium in the wake of the energy transition for climate change a central asset to control of great strategic importance. This article intends on providing an analysis on the current state of the global control of lithium and …

Environmental changes caused by exacerbating climate conditions are amidst one of the most severe reasons leading to the choice to migrate. Persons fleeing their homes following a natural disaster or other catastrophic event caused by climate change are labeled “climate migrants”. However, under the current international legislation, the figure of “climate migrant” does not exist yet (1). As a matter …

With multiple reports alerting to the necessity for developed countries to invest and develop more sustainable and renewable energy sources that combat pollution, there is the strategic certainty that such a global challenge such as climate change can only be addressed through global cooperation. However, in an increasingly multipolar world with competing powers and increasingly more tense relations between them, …