How a group of students brought climate change to the world's top court - Vishal Prasad
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How a group of students brought climate change to the world's top court - Vishal Prasad
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About this listen
On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will present its long-awaited advisory opinion on the obligations of states regarding climate change. The court was asked to clarify the legal duties of countries under international law to protect the climate system and address the impacts of climate change, particularly for present and future generations.
29-year-old Vishal Prasad has been part of the ICJ advisory opinion movement since 2019. Born and raised in Fiji, one of 14 Pacific small island developing states , Vishal is Director of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, the youth-led movement behind the ICJ advisory opinion campaign.
In this episode of Climate Court Voices, he explains what it means to be a Fijian, how he got into climate activism, why an advisory opinion is the best instrument to hold governments accountable, and what we can expect from the court's decision.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:46) Climate change in the Pacific
(06:05) ICJAO campaign
(07:29) Why an advisory opinion?
(10:22) Hearings in The Hague
(13:23) Questions for the ICJ
(14:51) Divisions between developed and developing countries
(19:49) Expectations and what's next?
(23:10) Vishal's message for climate activists