Najam Publishes Article in Nature on ICJ Climate Change Ruling
Professor Adil Najam, Dean Emeritus at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, has authored an article in Nature calling for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take a strong position on climate change and nature protection.
In “The time to act is now: the world’s highest court must weigh in strongly on climate and nature,” published on August 8, 2024, Najam urges governments to provide the ICJ with evidence and arguments for protecting nature and the climate. The court is formulating an advisory opinion on states’ obligations to mitigate climate change.
Najam writes, “We cannot afford to keep failing this wondrous planet of ours.” He argues that a strong ICJ opinion could reinforce international climate policy and reduce legal ambiguity around states’ obligations.
The article comes as the deadline for submitting statements to the ICJ approaches on August 15. Najam notes that the court received a record 91 statements in April, leading to an extension of the deadline.
Najam’s piece has generated discussion on social media and research platforms. He hopes it will contribute to the ongoing debate about climate change mitigation and nature conservation.
The full article is available on Nature’s website: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02583-3
Adil Najam is Dean Emeritus and Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and also serves as the President of WWF-International. He served as the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies from 2014-2022. He is also a former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Najam on his Pardee School faculty profile.