https://odi.org/en/publications/keeping-the-international-court-of-justi...
How SIDS can engage allies to fulfil their obligations
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) secured a landmark victory when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed states’ legal obligations to protect the climate system. As the world approaches COP30 - and the window to limit global warming to 1.5°C rapidly narrows - this new briefing paper equips SIDS and their partners to use the ICJ advisory opinion to strengthen alliances, drive accountability, and spur urgent climate action.
A briefing paper from ODI Global's Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI).
The ICJ’s advisory opinion on states’ climate obligations marks a historic milestone for international climate justice - one that SIDS themselves helped to secure.
Yet this breakthrough comes amid weakening political momentum. Only a fraction of Parties to the UNFCCC have submitted updated, 1.5°C-aligned Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and many of the so-called 'friends of SIDS' - nations that have historically supported island states - are falling short of their own commitments. As sea levels rise and climate threats intensify, the urgency for action has never been greater. For SIDS, who have contributed least to global emissions yet face the gravest consequences, the stakes are existential - demanding renewed solidarity and accountability from their international partners.
COP30 offers a pivotal opportunity to translate the ICJ’s legal clarity into concrete diplomatic gains. Beyond COP30, the opinion also opens pathways for accountability through climate litigation and compensation mechanisms - vital tools for ensuring the promises made to SIDS are kept.
This briefing paper provides a detailed assessment of ten 'friends of SIDS' - Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, China and India - examining their NDCs and fossil fuel policies in light of the ICJ ruling. It offers practical recommendations for how SIDS can engage diplomatically to keep the advisory opinion alive and leverage it to strengthen collective climate ambition.
