Inter-American Court of Human Rights Delivers Landmark Opinion on Climate Emergency

July 22, 2025

By Eoin Jackson

The climate crisis is an “emergency,” which can only be “adequately addressed through urgent, effective, and coordinated actions,” the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared on July 3. The international court, established by the Organization of American States in 1979, made this pronouncement in its Advisory Opinion on Human Rights and the Climate Emergency, legal analysis requested by Chile and Colombia. It offers authoritative guidance on the scope of countries’ obligations to address climate change and is the most comprehensive overview of the intersection between human rights law and climate change in the Americas

Read more