Latin America’s top human rights court says countries have a duty to act on climate change

By&nbspSteven Grattan&nbspwith&nbspAP

Published on 04/07/2025 - 9:08 GMT+2

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights connected Thursday issued a landmark advisory sentiment linking governments’ quality authorities obligations to their work to reside nan threat of ambiance change.

It is simply a move expected to style argumentation and litigation crossed Latin America and nan Caribbean.

The sentiment is nan first of its benignant from nan region’s apical quality authorities tribunal and responds to a 2023 petition from Colombia and Chile.

It says states person a work nether world rule to prevent, mitigate and remedy biology harm that threatens quality rights, including done laws, policies and actions aimed astatine curbing ambiance change.

'We are successful a ambiance emergency'

The tribunal outlined a bid of ineligible standards, including nan nickname of a quality correct to a patient climate, nan responsibility to forestall monolithic and irreversible biology harm, arsenic good arsenic nan work to protect nan authorities of existent and early generations.

“The Court has declared that we are successful a ambiance emergency that is undermining nan quality authorities of coming and early generations and that quality authorities must beryllium astatine nan centre of immoderate effective response," Nikki Reisch, programme head astatine nan Centre for International Environmental Law Climate and Energy, told The Associated Press.

The sentiment states that countries person a ineligible work not only to debar biology harm but besides to protect and reconstruct ecosystems, guided by subject and Indigenous knowledge.

“This is simply a historical opinion,” said Reisch. “It’s not conscionable a ineligible milestone - it’s a blueprint for action. This sentiment will guideline ambiance litigation astatine nan local, regional, and nationalist courts, and supply a instauration for ambiance policymaking, grounding section authorities and world negotiations successful ineligible obligation, not conscionable successful nan Americas but astir nan world.”

Court findings could bolster ambiance lawsuits

Though not binding, nan court's opinions transportation ineligible weight successful galore personnel countries of nan Organization of American States and often power home legislation, judicial rulings and world advocacy.

The court’s findings are expected to bolster climate-related lawsuits and human authorities claims successful nan region, and to power negotiations up of COP30 - nan adjacent awesome United Nations ambiance summit, group to return spot successful November successful Belem, Brazil.

“States must not only refrain from causing important biology harm but person nan affirmative responsibility to return measures to guarantee nan protection, restoration, and regeneration of ecosystems,” said Court President Judge Nancy Hernández López.

“Causing monolithic and irreversible biology harm...alters nan conditions for a patient life connected Earth to specified an grade that it creates consequences of existential proportions. Therefore, it demands cosmopolitan and effective ineligible responses,” López said.

Growing Indigenous momentum for ambiance justice

The sentiment comes amid growing Indigenous momentum successful nan region, including a acme successful Ecuador’s Amazon past period wherever hundreds of Indigenous leaders gathered to request enforcement of tribunal victories recognising their onshore and biology rights.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, based successful San Jose, Costa Rica, is nan region’s apical tribunal for interpreting and enforcing nan American Convention connected Human Rights. Its rulings, though often challenged by anemic enforcement, person played a cardinal domiciled successful advancing Indigenous authorities and biology protections crossed Latin America.

In caller years, nan tribunal has condemned governments for allowing mining projects connected Indigenous onshore without due consultation, and advocates person progressively turned to it arsenic a forum for climate-related accountability.

The advisory builds connected nan Court’s 2017 advisory ruling that recognised nan correct to a patient situation arsenic a standalone quality right, deepening its exertion successful nan discourse of ambiance breakdown.