July 2025 was marked by two historic moments: for the first time, the climate crisis simultaneously reached the two most important courts for global and regional justice: the International Court of Justice (ICJ), known as the “World Court,” and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the highest human rights tribunal in Latin America and the Caribbean.
These rulings are the result of years of collective, diplomatic, and legal work in which young people went from being spectators to protagonists. Those of us between the ages of 15 and 35 today are part of a generation that “has not been able to experience” what others have. We grew up seeing how climate change ceased to be a warning and became part of our daily lives, shaping what we eat, where we live, and even how we imagine the future.
From a Student Idea to the United Nations
In 2019, a group of 27 students in the Pacific (Oceania), alarmed by the impact of climate change on their communities, set an ambitious goal: to take the world’s largest issue to the World Court to clarify, for the first time, the obligations of States in the face of the climate crisis. Thus, Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC) was born.
The spark ignited a global movement. With the creation of World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ), young people from Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, and Europe joined forces. On March 29, 2023, following a campaign supported by more than 1,500 organizations, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus Resolution 77/276, requesting the ICJ to rule on the obligations of States to protect the climate system for present and future generations, as well as on the consequences of failing to comply with them.
At the ICJ, only States and certain international organizations can present direct arguments. Even so, youth found a way to be present: they provided state delegations with the Youth Climate Justice Manual, developed by young experts in international law, to inspire and reinforce their arguments. They also encouraged young people and affected communities to be part of the delegations at the oral hearings.
The effort had a significant impact, becoming the procedure with the most written statements in the history of the ICJ, with significant participation from Latin America. The Court emphasized that intergenerational equity—protecting the rights and well-being of future generations—was one of the principles on which the vast majority of the more than 90 participating States agreed.
The Regional Route: The Inter-American Court
In parallel, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights carried out the consultative process on “Climate Emergency and Human Rights,” promoted by Chile and Colombia, which—unlike the ICJ—allows for the direct participation of organizations and individuals through amicus curiae, briefs that provide the Court with relevant information and arguments to guide its decision.
WYCJ submitted two amicus curiae, focusing on intergenerational equity and the elimination of barriers that prevent children and young people from accessing climate justice. They held that States have a legal, and not just a moral, obligation to ensure that future generations enjoy at least the same environmental conditions as those they inherited from the present.
The organization’s participation extended to the public hearing in Barbados and an intervention in Manaus, Brazil, where it urged the Court to establish clear standards to protect children and young people from the climate crisis.
Two key decisions
In its Advisory Opinion 32/25, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognized for the first time the human right to a healthy climate, as well as intergenerational equity and the rights of nature, as central principles for climate action. It affirmed that climate justice must transcend borders and that States have reinforced obligations to prevent irreversible damage. It also established standards to facilitate access to justice for children, young people, and future generations.
Days later, the ICJ established that States must act with the highest possible ambition, based on science and following principles of equity. He pointed out that the Paris Agreement does not exhaust its obligations and that those who have contributed most to the crisis have a greater responsibility to stop and repair it.
These advisory opinions are not mere technical documents; they are tools that establish global legal standards and can influence legislation, public policies, climate negotiations, and judicial decisions around the world. They also pave the way for youth and future generations to have their rights recognized and protected in the face of the climate crisis, making their voices reach the highest courts of justice.
From these processes emerges the clear conviction that climate action is urgent and that every voice matters. In multiple languages and accents, the world repeats the same call: enough excuses. The time to act is now, because if we fail to do so, no court will be able to repair what has been lost.
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