A recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has affirmed the Philippines’ long-standing call for the international community to decisively address climate "injustice" suffered by vulnerable nations.

Former Albay lawmaker Joey Salceda, a former co-chair of the United Nations (UN) Green Climate Fund and UN Senior Global Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction, lauded the landmark 23 July decision by the top UN court.

The ruling, he said, paves the way for countries to pursue legal action against one another over climate change, including historical emissions of planet-warming gases.

"In that decision, the ICJ declared that states have binding legal obligations to prevent climate harm, to reduce emissions in line with the 1.5-degree Celsius target, and to support vulnerable countries suffering irreversible loss and damage," Salceda wrote in a paper titled "The Other Ruling from The Hague: Climate Justice and the Judgment That Will Shape Our Future," shared on Friday.

Salceda highlighted that for the Philippines, this ruling validates a path the nation has actively pursued. He recalled President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s first speech before the UN General Assembly in September 2022, where the president made climate change the centerpiece of Philippine foreign policy, labeling it a "historical injustice" and urging decisive international action.

Salceda described Marcos' speech not as mere rhetoric, but as a strategic signal that under his leadership, the Philippines would be at the forefront of climate justice diplomacy. He noted that when the Loss and Damage Fund was established the following year, the Philippines swiftly offered to host its Board, an offer that has since been accepted.

The principle of international compensation for loss and damage was first articulated in multilateral institutions through the UN Green Climate Fund, Salceda added. In 2013, the Group of 77 and China, representing developing countries, nominated Salceda to co-chair the fund.

"Green Climate Fund was not a tool for charity. It was a system for structured responsibility. It transformed climate finance from goodwill into duty," Salceda explained. "The principle that underlay that work has now been affirmed by the world’s highest court. But the ICJ ruling must also be understood in context."

Salceda clarified that the ICJ ruling "does not negate our right to emit within scientifically reasonable bounds." Instead, he said, "It simply affirms that if the world wants countries like ours to decarbonize rapidly, it must provide the means to do so. That includes infrastructure, technology, concessional finance, and access to green markets."

From Marcos’ early statement before the UN to the Philippines' leadership in climate finance and its successful bid to host the Loss and Damage Fund Board, Salceda asserted that the Philippines "did not ask for permission to lead. We have led."

He also stressed that this leadership must continue, resting on the understanding that "at the root of climate justice lies economic justice. The world cannot demand ambition from the poor while denying them the tools to survive."