Key Takeaways
- Judicial action is gaining momentum as a potentially high-impact strategy for driving sustainability, reinforced by the ICJ’s landmark opinion on climate obligations.
- Legal accountability may reshape climate strategy, shifting focus from policy preferences to enforceable duties.
- Experts believe that less systemic approaches by civil society have less potential to be impactful, such as NGO campaigns, public protests, or boycotts.
A global survey of 844 sustainability experts across 72 countries, conducted by GlobeScan in collaboration with ERM and Volans, finds that judicial action is now seen as one of the most powerful tools civil society can use to drive sustainability outcomes in the near term. This view has gained significant traction in light of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s historic advisory opinion on climate change issued in July 2025, which declares that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a fundamental human right.
The ICJ’s landmark ruling affirms that countries have legal obligations to prevent environmental harm under international law. Crucially, it finds that states failing to meet their climate commitments are in breach of international law, and that states must cooperate to achieve concrete emissions reduction targets. This reframes climate action as a legal imperative rather than a policy preference, and elevates the strategic importance of litigation, legal systems, and accountability mechanisms in the global sustainability agenda.
Alongside legal avenues, experts also point to education and leadership development, policy advocacy, and media scrutiny as top civil society strategies to accelerate progress. In contrast, less structured or symbolic approaches, such as NGO campaigns, public protests, or boycotts, are seen as relatively less impactful in achieving systemic change.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The ICJ’s advisory opinion may be a turning point for climate justice. Though technicallynot legally binding, it sends a powerful message that could reshape international climate negotiations and jurisprudence. For the more than 3,000 pending climate lawsuits globally, the ICJ’s affirmation of legal obligations offers fresh momentum and potential legal precedent for holding governments and corporations accountable.
For businesses and policymakers, this means climate litigation risk is rising. The advisory opinion may also influence the tone of negotiations at COP30, fueling increased pressure for enforceable targets and climate finance for vulnerable countries. Looking ahead, legal action may no longer be a last resort and could instead become a primary lever in the sustainability toolbox. Companies would be wise to monitor evolving legal norms, proactively align with international commitments, and embed climate risk into their governance and strategy before courts and public pressure force their hand.
This analysis is based on a survey of 844 sustainability practitioners across 72 countries globally. To learn more about how sustainability experts believe we can best navigate this crucial inflection point in the evolution of the global sustainability agenda, explore our recent report: Sustainability at a Crossroads.
Survey Question: Please rate the extent to which each of the following could potentially lead to significant positive sustainability outcomes over the next five years. Please use a 5-point scale where 1 is the potential to have “no positive impact at all,” 3 is “moderate positive impact,” and 5 is “very significant positive impact.”
