More than 30 UN special rapporteurs and human rights experts welcomed on Friday a General Assembly resolution that reaffirms state parties’ obligations on climate change. This comes one day after the publication of a meteorology report, suggesting that the Paris Agreement’s long-term climate goals are attainable despite temporary breaches.

The statement suggests that 141 states voted to realize the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion through stronger multilateral cooperation. The experts reiterate the states’ human rights obligations to maintain a healthy environment and the procedural requirement to ensure meaningful participation of all. They also highlighted its significance amidst global fuel and food insecurity in the contemporary geopolitical context.

The experts support the request that the Secretary-General compile a report on measures state parties can take to fulfil their obligations in accordance with the advisory opinion. They urge that the upcoming climate negotiations must be grounded in the opinion.

Although neither the advisory opinion nor the resolution is legally binding, they serve as important evidence for the world court to ascertain customary international law and interpret related treaties.

Efforts to implement the advisory opinion are observed worldwide. UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, Astrid Puentes Riaño, confirmed on Friday that the Federal Court of Australia has allowed her to testify in court as an intervenor on the judicial review of the government’s approval to extend the operating life of the North West Shelf Project–a liquefied natural gas operation site. This is the first time a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment has been admitted to an Australian court. Earlier in January, a Dutch court also affirmed that the UN climate change treaties are binding on the country.

One day before the statement, the UK Met Office reported that there is a 91 percent likelihood that average global temperatures will exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels over the next five years. This benchmark is established by the Paris Agreement, which the world court’s advisory opinion considers legally binding on all state parties. The report also warned of changing rainfall patterns and hastening warming in the Arctic. Despite the temporary exceedance, the UN maintains that the agreement’s long-term climate goals are still attainable. This is consistent with a November 2025 report that the world can still return to below the benchmark by 2100 if countries act with their “highest possible ambition.”