Inter-American Court Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on climate
An opinion delivered in July 2025 that recognizes an autonomous human right to a healthy climate and climate obligations for both states and companies.
Asked by Chile and Colombia, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights set out what the American Convention requires in the face of the climate emergency. It recognized an autonomous right to a healthy climate, derived from the right to a healthy environment, and laid down obligations of prevention, mitigation, adaptation and reparation. It went further than other international courts on two points: non-state actors, including companies, also bear obligations grounded in human rights, and nature and its components are recognized as rights-holders. For risk analysis, the opinion strengthens the legal basis for actions against companies in states that accept the Court's jurisdiction. It complements, a few weeks apart, the opinion of the International Court of Justice.
The Court delivered Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the climate emergency and human rights on July 3, 2025, twenty days before the International Court of Justice opinion of July 23, 2025.
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