MCFA Seminar Series: Climate Change and International Law - The Promise of an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice

In March 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution to refer the question of state obligations in respect of climate change to the International Court of Justice. This historic outcome was the product of an intensive 3-year campaign, initiated by Pacific youth and carried forward by the Republic of Vanuatu. The import of the advisory opinion cannot be overstated—it will represent the first, and most authoritative, statement on what state action is required by international law as a whole in the context of the climate crisis, and what legal consequences stem inaction. This talk provides an overview of the campaign to seek an ICJ advisory opinion on climate change, the rationale behind the formulation of the legal question, and the potential benefits of such an opinion for advancing climate justice and encouraging climate ambition.

About the Speaker

Autumn Bordner is a PhD Candidate in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, where she studies climate justice in the colonial context. She is the founder of the Allies for Micronesia Project, a non-profit focused on unique justice challenges in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. Autumn is also a lawyer with Blue Ocean Law, a Guam-based international human rights law firm. In this capacity she works on a range of environmental justice issues in Oceania, including representing the Republic of Vanuatu in their pursuit of an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the obligations of states in respect of climate change. Autumn holds a JD from Stanford Law School, an MS from Stanford University, and a BA from Columbia University.