ICJ climate justice proceedings must recognise links between climate and nature

Climate change is destroying nature and must be stopped – but we should also ensure climate action helps, not hinders, nature

Climate change is not just a crisis of rising temperatures – it is a crisis for humanity and nature alike. By failing to act on climate change, states are gravely undermining the human rights of vulnerable communities.

But apart from the devastating direct impacts, climate change also threatens nature, and consequently also the services that nature provides people with. Climate and nature are deeply interlinked, and these links cannot be overlooked in global action to address the climate crisis.

Today, we represented IUCN and we backed numerous other experts and organisations in arguing before the International Court of Justice in The Hague that countries have a binding legal responsibility to fight climate change. But uniquely, as the global authority on the state of nature, we also highlighted the impacts of climate change on the natural world – and the need to consider nature in climate action.

The climate crisis is also a biodiversity crisis. Climate change alters ecosystems in a myriad of ways, and at the same time the loss of nature is fuelling the extent and impact of climate change globally. One cannot be addressed successfully without the other.

As ecosystems shift and species are pushed to extremes, the natural world—on which we all depend—is under immense pressure. Yet, hope lies in recognizing the deep interconnection between nature and climate action. By restoring forests, protecting coral reefs, safeguarding soil health, and conserving vital habitats, we not only protect biodiversity but also strengthen nature’s ability to buffer us against climate impacts.

Today, we used our unique expertise to tell the court that nations need to take responsibility for climate change – but this cannot be realised if nature is overlooked.

As others like Vanuatu have argued, in failing to act on climate, states are undermining the human rights of vulnerable communities – particularly the right to life, health, housing and culture. By failing to rein in climate change, states are also undermining nature’s ability to provide communities with food, fisheries, productive farmland, and other services – impacting lives and livelihoods.

For millions – herders, farmers, fishers, and Indigenous peoples – nature is more than a resource; it is a lifeline. They will suffer the most from our inaction. Climate change is already affecting nature, and the impacts are escalating. For example, climate change and severe weather are a threat to 7,412 species (16%) on the IUCN Red List, including 19% of freshwater fishes and 44% of reef-building corals – two species groups that are integral to the lives of millions across the world.

Similarly, degraded land impacts 3.2 billion people, leaving communities more vulnerable to droughts that are increasing in severity and frequency – depriving them of the basic rights of access to food and water.

Over a billion people are estimated to benefit from coral reefs in some form, for instance, for food, income, and protection. As a union that includes Indigenous peoples’ organisations as well as states and civil society, IUCN is well placed to speak out on this. This is an additional reason why action on climate must be a legal obligation for states, and why a failure to act should entail legal consequences.

The desertification (UNCCD) COP in Saudi Arabia just heard how up to 40% of the Earth’s land is degraded, impacting 3.2 billion people, including the world’s most vulnerable communities. These trends are compounded by biodiversity loss and declines in soil health as well as climate change, both of which contribute to the impacts of droughts – which are increasing in severity, frequency, and intensity. Some estimates suggesting that three-quarters of the global population could be affected by 2050.

We know that action to limit climate change requires a just and inclusive transition to a low-carbon future via significant renewable energy development.

Here, too, climate and nature are connected. While a just and speedy transition to renewables is an absolute priority, biodiversity must also be considered in humans’ responses to climate change. For example, the energy transition entails changing land use – such as planting biofuels – and building energy infrastructure such as wind turbines and dams. Nature must be factored in and protected in the midst of these changes, when planning biofuel projects or energy infrastructure, to ensure that these responses do not impact ecosystems and species negatively.

Let us remember that the link between climate and nature is two-way – climate change threatens nature, but failing to protect forests, grasslands, coral reefs, seagrass meadows and other ecosystems also worsens climate change, and leaves communities more vulnerable to its impacts. Nature is a crucial ally in the fight against the climate crisis, and we simply cannot afford to overlook it.

Cover photo: Sea ice floes are key habitat for bearded seals and ice retreat threatens the survival of the species, according to wildlife authorities (Photo:Deposit Photos)