What the IACtHR and ICJ Rulings Mean for Small Island Developing States

By James Fletcher

From Hope to Disillusionment

At 7.29 PM AST on 12 December 2015, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius gaveled the Paris Agreement and the accompanying COP21 decision. At that moment, sitting in the plenary room in the COP21 conference venue in Le Bourget, Paris, as Saint Lucia’s Minister with responsibility for Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology, I felt hopeful that Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like mine would be spared the worst impacts of the climate crisis. When I addressed the closing plenary less than one hour later, I stated, “The Government of Saint Lucia and the governments of the countries that make up CARICOM, applaud the process that has culminated in the production of the Paris Agreement that we have just adopted”. I went on to say, “Mr. President, I can confidently speak on behalf of my fellow Caribbean delegations when I say that for perhaps the first time in a long time, Caribbean and other SIDS truly felt that our concerns were being heard at a COP”. I culminated my address by indicating that after two intense weeks in Paris, “I can return home to the citizens of my country and the Caribbean and reassure them that the world cares about them” and “I can tell the young people in our region who adopted One Point Five to Stay Alive as their mantra that their future looks much brighter today than it did two weeks ago.”

Sadly, nothing that has happened in the decade since the adoption of that historic Paris Agreement has given me reason for continued optimism. To the contrary, I have grown increasingly pessimistic and disenchanted. Instead of the strong resolute action that was agreed to in the Paris Agreement, I have seen emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases continue to increase, and fossil fuel subsidies expand into trillion dollar territory. The consequences for countries like mine have been land and ocean temperature records being shattered yearly, hurricanes getting stronger and deadlier, droughts lasting longer and becoming more frequent, and species becoming extinct due to ecosystem collapse.

Decades of Denial and Injustice

During my nearly two decades of climate advocacy – at global summits, in regional fora, and with civil society organisations and youth activists, I have often lamented the fact that despite the abundance of scientific evidence that the fossil fuel industry is responsible for the climate crisis, and despite some of them knowing of these risks from as early as the 1970s, they have consistently denied responsibility and  refused to engage in any discussions about reparations or compensation to the countries that bear the brunt of the impacts, despite these countries having made little to no contribution to the crisis. While the profits of the fossil fuel industry have grown, the debt, despair and death toll in vulnerable countries have increased. Simply put, there has been no justice.

Lessons from the Tobacco Industry

I saw parallels with the tobacco industry, where for decades that industry denied the established scientific link between smoking and cancer, even while internal documents showed they knew the truth. All of that ended when lawsuits succeeded in framing the issue as a public health crisis and not a matter of individual choice, and the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (1998) resulted in the tobacco industry agreeing to pay $206 billion over 25 years to States in the USA to recover the Medicaid costs that were associated with treating illnesses caused by smoking.

That is why I was convinced that despite the importance and the utility of the multilateral negotiations process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), we, the victims of the climate crisis, needed to pursue a parallel track of litigation.

Today, I am more hopeful than I have been at any point during the decade after we adopted the Paris Agreement, about the trajectory of climate justice.

Recognizing Climate Change as a Human Rights Crisis

This hope stems from two landmark legal pronouncements, delivered weeks apart, by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). These rulings mark a significant inflection point in how international law treats the climate crisis. For Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like ours in the Caribbean, and for vulnerable countries across the Global South, they represent not just moral vindication, but legal empowerment.

The ruling by the IACHR, the highest human rights tribunal of the Americas, affirmed for the first time that climate change threatens the full enjoyment of fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, health, water, food, and a healthy environment. Crucially, it recognised that these rights extend to future generations, placing legal responsibility on governments today to protect those yet to be born.

As the founder of Youth IRIE (Innovators for Renewable and Inclusive Energy) and the Caribbean Climate Justice Project, and a strong supporter of the work of youth climate movements like the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, I have long advocated for youth voices to be taken more seriously in climate policy. The Court’s recognition of the legal standing of young people and future generations is a groundbreaking victory. It provides a solid legal basis for youth-led climate justice movements and strengthens the calls for intergenerational equity – an issue that resonates deeply with Caribbean youth, who are inheriting a crisis they did not create.

Cross-Border Responsibility and State Accountability

The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, requested by the UN General Assembly and supported by over 130 countries, including CARICOM member states, reinforces this legal shift. It declares unequivocally that States have binding obligations under international law to prevent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to protect vulnerable ecosystems, especially the ocean, and to support the countries that are harmed by the climate crisis.

Importantly, both courts affirmed that States can be held accountable for climate harm that crosses borders. For SIDS, this is monumental. We emit a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gases, yet we suffer disproportionately from rising seas, stronger hurricanes, water insecurity, and collapsing terrestrial and marine ecosystems. These rulings say clearly – those who cause the harm must be held responsible, even when the damage occurs far from their borders.

This grounds the climate crisis firmly within the scope of international legal responsibility. It moves us from a system where emissions reductions were mostly voluntary, to one where climate action is a legal duty, and inaction carries consequences.

A Legal Mandate for Climate Finance and Loss & Damage

These rulings also give strength to one of the Caribbean’s long-standing positions – climate finance is not charity, it is reparation. The courts recognized that States must assist those most affected by climate change, especially when the impacts are foreseeable and severe. This supports our position that mechanisms like the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) are not discretionary; they are essential elements of a fair and just global response.

This jurisprudence must now shape how we approach climate negotiations. At COP30 and beyond, we must press for the full integration of legal principles into climate governance, ensuring that States’ obligations to act, to cooperate, and to finance adaptation and recovery are framed within a binding legal context.

From International Judgments to National Justice

But the power of these rulings goes beyond international courtrooms and negotiation arenas. They offer practical tools for citizens, communities, and civil society to demand better. Governments across the world can now be encouraged, indeed, compelled, to align their domestic climate policies with international legal obligations. National courts may also now cite these opinions to require stronger climate laws, better environmental safeguards, and greater public participation in decision-making.

Charting the Path Forward

These victories are not accidental. They are the result of tireless advocacy from SIDS, Indigenous leaders, youth activists, legal scholars, and diplomats. As someone who played a role in the crafting of the Paris Agreement, I can attest to how difficult it was to secure recognition of the special circumstances of SIDS, separate treatment of loss and damage as impacts that exceed our capacity to adapt, and the need for equity and justice in our response to climate change. These new rulings now embed those principles in binding legal reasoning.

Our challenge now is to translate these legal breakthroughs into policy transformation, financing flows, and on-the-ground resilience. We must build the capacity of our legal systems, engage our citizens, support litigation where necessary, and hold high-emitting countries and polluters to account.

This is a new chapter in the climate struggle, one where SIDS are no longer seen merely as victims, but as agents of legal and moral leadership in the global fight for a livable planet. We must seize the moment, not just in courtrooms and negotiation theatres, but in every policy we craft, every campaign we support, and every youth voice we empower.

James Fletcher is the Climate Envoy for the Caribbean Community, the Founder of the Caribbean Climate Justice Project and Youth IRIE, a REN21 Renewable Energy Champions Initiative Global Champion, an Expert/Non-State Actor Council Member of the Global Green Growth Institute, and a Former Minister for Climate Change of Saint Lucia