Acceso usuarios
Nicolas Tavano Hall
lting, and rising sea levels are flooding major cities. In response, the United Nations requested that the International Court of Justice advise the nations of the world on their obligations under international law regarding climate change. Those obligations were fairly predictable, with States being expected to comply with previously ratified climate treaties and established principles of international law. States are expected to implement the obligations of these treaties in their actions. More ifficult issues arise, however, when polluting actions that, while supported by States, are done by private actors. Under the current international standards for state attribution, such conduct is generally not directly attributable to the State. These standards, developed primarily in cases concerning paramilitary or military activities of groups such as the Contras, establish demanding standards requiring States to have a high degree of control over a group before their actions can be attributed to the state. Financial support alone is insufficient to meet this threshold. Yet States continue to invest billions of dollars in fossil fuel projects abroad. Clearly existing restrictions on funding groups that contribute to climate change are inadequate, and international law must move to rectify this issue. States should be held responsible when they negligently fund groups that cause physical and property damage abroad. We have already missed the opportunity to keep the arth’s temperature to the previous goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial averages, but it is not too late to avoid absolute collapse.
