ICJ Ruling a Historic Vindication for Climate Justice; "Fill The Fund" Campaign Vows to Escalate Demands for Reparations

The "Fill The Fund" campaign welcomes the landmark Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of states regarding climate change.

This historic ruling is a resounding victory for climate justice and for every community on the frontlines of the climate crisis. It provides a powerful legal and moral foundation for our central demand: that wealthy nations and polluters must pay for the Loss and Damage they have caused.

A solidarity march, held by the Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change - Photograph from Loss and Damage Collaboration

For decades, we have asserted that polluters must pay. The ICJ has now affirmed the ‘polluter pays’ principle as international law for the climate crisis. This makes our demand for Loss and Damage finance a clear legal obligation to support vulnerable nations and communities, not as charity, but as a legal duty rooted in historical responsibility that polluters must pay.

Crucially, the Court's opinion extends accountability beyond states to corporate polluters, particularly the fossil fuel industry, that have profited from decades of devastation. By affirming that polluters are liable for reparations, restitution, and compensation, the ICJ has cleared a path to hold these powerful actors directly to account.

This ruling provides a powerful boost to the “Fill The Fund” campaign. We will build on this momentum and intensify our efforts on the road to the 7th Board Meeting of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) in Manila in October 2025, the COP30 climate summit in Belém in November 2025, and beyond.

We will carry this Advisory Opinion into every negotiation room to demand that the Fund's Resource Mobilization Strategy is rooted in the legal liability of developed countries and corporate polluters. We will use it to challenge any attempt to substitute grant-based reparations with burdensome loans.

The legal argument has been powerfully affirmed. Now, the political fight to #FillTheFund intensifies. 

The time for excuses is definitively over! The time for reparations is now!