Summary:
- The International Court of Justice has ruled that states have a legal duty to take action on climate change. The court said governments that fail to reduce emissions could be in breach of international law.
- The ruling is seen as strengthening Liberia’s position to promote climate change as a peace and security issue during its return to the UN Security Council after six decades.
- Liberia, which contributes less than 0.01% of global emissions, faces severe impacts from climate change including extreme heat, floods, and crop failures, prompting local calls for stronger global action and accountability.
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives
In a historic ruling, the United Nations’ highest court has declared that countries have a legal duty to act on climate change, a decision advocates say could reshape global climate diplomacy.
The ruling comes as Liberia regains a seat on the U.N. Security Council for the first time in 60 years and offers strong backing for the country – one of those on the front lines of climate change – to put the issue on the global security agenda.
“The ICJ opinion just adds legal backing to what we’ve always known: that climate change is not only an environmental issue, but a matter of peace and security,” said Norwu Harris, Youth and Climate Justice Program Coordinator at ActionAid Liberia, a local NGO that supports grassroots action.
On July 23, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) called the climate crisis an “urgent and existential threat” and said countries that don’t take action could be breaking international law. The court also said everyone has a right to a clean and healthy environment, and that governments can be held legally responsible if they fail to reduce global warming.
The ICJ, the United Nations’ highest legal body, settles disputes between countries and provides advice on international law. While its rulings are not enforceable like those of a regular court, they carry significant influence worldwide. This latest ruling came after Vanuatu, a small island nation in the Pacific, led a group of more than 130 countries, including many from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, to ask the ICJ what legal obligations governments have to address climate change.
Liberia did not directly join the request, but climate advocates say the ruling strengthens its moral and diplomatic authority as it prepares to push the Security Council on climate security.
“We need to bring our local knowledge to the global table, where real decisions are made, and now, where the law is finally on our side,” said Norwu Harris, a Liberian climate justice advocate. “The Court’s recognition of climate change as an ‘urgent and existential threat’ strengthens the case to make it a global security priority.”
Efforts to secure comments from key environmental officials in Liberia were unsuccessful. Neither Mr. Yarkpawolo, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor Louis Kuukpen, the United Nations Development Programs’ resident representative, responded to requests for comment before deadline.
Climate change is responsible for flooding that displaced 100,000 people in 2024. This year’s rainy season may be as bad according to experts. Photo: Eric Opa Doue
For Liberia, the effects of climate change are already clear and painful. Subsistence farmers struggling with unpredictable weather and lack of access to reliable climate information are seeing their crops fail more often, threatening food security. Flooding is displacing a growing number of people each rainy season and destroying their crops. Many have turned to traditional charcoal production to earn income — a practice that is driving deforestation and threatening the biodiversity that keeps the forests healthy.
On the coasts fishmongers are seeing reduced catch as melting polar ice caps are leading to reduced fish stocks. A study earlier this year found that undernourishment in Liberia is rising. This cycle of environmental damage and economic hardship highlights why Liberia’s leaders see climate action not just as an environmental issue, but as a matter of national security.
Climate change was part of Liberia’s campaign for a seat on the Security Council earlier this year. Advocates said the ruling gives Liberia new legal footing to elevate climate-related instability as a threat to peace.
“Communities displaced by floods or droughts often face cultural clashes and resource-driven tensions,” Harris said. “The Security Council seat allows Liberia to push for sustainable, inclusive solutions that reflect these realities, and now, the law is on our side.”
A woman with a flooded house in Cestos in 2024. Photo: Eric Opa Doue
Liberia does not make much of the greenhouse gases that are driving up temperatures and causing climate change — less than 0.01% of the global total. But even so, the country is already feeling the impact. In 2024, Liberia had 116 very hot days because of climate change. In the last 30 years, the temperature in Liberia has gone up by almost 1 degree Celsius. This makes life tough, especially for vulnerable people – the elderly, sick or young – and those who don’t have electricity, fans, or strong buildings to keep cool.
Flooding, storms and extreme weather hazards and unpredictable weather patterns have increased dramatically in recent years thanks to global warming devastating hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced or are no longer able to survive on farming.
Advocates for low-income countries say this is not fair. The countries that have industrialized fastest – like the U.S., China, India and European states – have caused most of the damage and are better prepared to deal with the consequences. They are calling on high polluting countries to stop polluting and pay more to help others like Liberia adapt.
“This is why every country must act fast, if we don’t slow down global warming, countries like Liberia will suffer the most,” said Harris.
A New Mandate for Climate-Vulnerable Countries
In 2021, the United Nations Security Council debated whether climate change should be officially treated as a threat to peace and security. A resolution led by Ireland and Niger aimed to make climate issues part of UN peacekeeping and conflict prevention work. Most countries supported it, but Russia blocked it using its veto power, meaning the resolution could not pass. India also opposed it, and China chose not to vote.
Russia, India, and China argued that climate change should be handled by environmental bodies like the UN climate agency, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, not the Security Council. They feared that linking climate to global security could allow powerful countries to interfere in the internal affairs of others.
But countries from the Global South — like Liberia, Niger, and Kenya — strongly disagreed. They said climate change is already making life harder, especially in Africa and island nations. Droughts, floods, food shortages, and even conflict are becoming more common, and they believe the UN must take stronger action.
This demand isn’t new. As far back as 2007, African countries called on the UN to act on climate and security. In 2015, developing nations helped push for key parts of the Paris Agreement, like support for adaptation and climate damage. Today, many of these same countries are warning that the world’s poorest, who have done the least to cause climate change are being hit the hardest.
The reaction from the world’s top polluters, including China, the U.S., India, and the EU has been cautious. While none have outright rejected the ruling, they have stopped short of endorsing it as binding. Some diplomats have expressed concern that the opinion could open the door to future lawsuits or international pressure campaigns.
But for climate-vulnerable nations like Liberia, the ruling is a turning point.
A farmer points to the small vegetable from his failing crop in 2024. Credit: Eric Opa Doue
Ezekiel Nyanfor, executive director of the Liberian Youth for Climate Action, said Liberia’s return to the Council is both a symbol of national pride and a chance to wield real influence.
“Our history of peacebuilding and democratic transitions gives us a unique voice,” he said. “We understand the stakes. Climate justice must be part of any real security solution.”
Liberia – home to one of the world’s largest tracts of old growth forest has leverage in any negotiations. Old growth forests are the most efficient “carbon sinks” meaning their dense tree coverage soaks up a lot of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
“Liberia holds about 40 percent of the Upper Guinean Forest, making us one of the largest carbon sinks in the world,” according to Nyanfor. He said this ruling will add to global pressure on heavy polluters. “We’ve consistently prioritized climate justice, it’s part of our development agenda and our international commitments. Now we have a ruling from the world’s top court to back it up.”
He said civil society groups are already working with the Foreign Ministry to ensure climate remains central to Liberia’s global role.
Alphina Clay, of the Development Education Network Liberia and a member of the newly launched Liberia Climate Justice Coalition, said the stakes are clear.
“For over 60 years, Liberia has not sat on the Security Council,” Clay said. “Reclaiming that seat is not just about prestige. It’s a platform to advocate for climate justice, environmental peacebuilding, and resource equity.”
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives. Funding was provided by the American Jewish World Service. The donor had no say in the story’s content.
