Lawfare Daily: Climate on the Docket at the ICJ with Melissa Stewart
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Melissa Stewart, an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law, joins Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien to discuss the International Court of Justice’s forthcoming advisory opinion on obligations of states in respect of climate change.
Stewart discusses how we got here, the unprecedented level of participation from states and international organizations in written submissions and oral proceedings, and the main arguments put forth during two weeks of those proceedings in December. She also speaks about how, “in the face of limited jurisdictional pathways to pursue direct accountability against the states most responsible for climate change, states are pursuing creative solutions to seek progress before international courts and tribunals”—a phenomenon she coined “jurisdictional ingenuity” in a forthcoming book chapter.
Mentioned in this episode:
“The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: A Data Analysis of Participants’ Submissions,” by Thomas Burri
To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The following podcast contains advertising. |
| 0:04.4 | To access an ad-free version of the Lawfare podcast, become a material supporter of Lawfare |
| 0:10.8 | at patreon.com slash lawfare. That's patreon.com slash lawfare. |
| 0:18.2 | Also, check out Lawfare's other podcast offerings, Rational Security, Chatter, |
| 0:25.2 | Lawfare No Bull, and The Aftermath. |
| 0:32.7 | Government's Future Frontiers is a brand new podcast brought to you by Deloitte, hosted by me, Tanya Ott. |
| 0:40.5 | I'll be joined by decision makers from government, not-for-profits, academia, and private industry to explore the way that the world will function in the coming decades. |
| 0:50.9 | So join me as we set out to discover government's future frontiers. Be sure to follow us |
| 0:57.1 | wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss an episode. If you do just one thing to make |
| 1:04.8 | yourself happier this year, make it this. Stop trying to please other people. How? |
| 1:11.6 | With the life-changing global bestseller, the courage to be disliked. |
| 1:16.3 | A book that will show you how to trust your inner compass, |
| 1:19.3 | break free from the judgment of others, and live with true confidence. |
| 1:24.3 | Make 2025 the year you do things your way, with the courage to be disliked. |
| 1:30.3 | Available in bookshops now. |
| 1:35.8 | What are the legal consequences for states when they have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment? |
| 1:44.5 | And there are other parts of that question that focused on the impact for particularly |
| 1:48.0 | vulnerable countries that are vulnerable to climate change and then present and future |
| 1:52.3 | generations that are particularly impacted. |
| 1:55.4 | I'm Tyler McBrien, managing editor of Lawfare. |
| 1:58.9 | With Melissa Stewart, an assistant professor of law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's William S. Richardson School of Law. |
| 2:06.9 | Obviously, there were a number of states pushing back against the idea that the law of state responsibility applies in this context, because they've been very clear. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Lawfare Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Lawfare Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.