The United Nations passes a historic resolution on climate justice.
The document calls on the International Court of Justice (IGC) to issue an advisory opinion on states' obligations on climate change.
Such opinions can provide much-needed clarification on existing international legal obligations, and in this case could help the United Nations and member countries take stronger climate action.
Before the approval, Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: "The UN General Assembly is meeting today to consider a draft resolution asking the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on states' obligations on climate change Such opinions can provide much-needed clarification on existing international legal obligations. If and when given, such an opinion would help the Assembly, the United Nations and member countries take bolder and stronger climate action than our world so desperately needs".
"The advisory opinions of the Court - the main judicial body of the UN - are of enormous importance and can have a lasting impact on the international legal order", he continued, stressing that "climate justice is both a moral imperative and a prerequisite for effective global climate action".
For Guterres, the climate crisis "can only be overcome through cooperation between peoples, cultures, nations, generations, but growing climate injustice is fueling divisions and threatens to paralyze global climate action".