FILE Funding Proposal - A Transformative Global Initiative to Accelerate Climate Accountability, Action & Justice

The International Court of Justice is about to hear evidence on whether countries are violating international law through climate change, and a coalition of partners is racing to put the strongest possible legal and scientific case before it. This matters because no international court has ever issued a definitive ruling on what countries legally owe one another—and their citizens—when it comes to climate harm. The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, expected within the next year, could set a global legal precedent on climate accountability, action, and justice. Without rigorous evidence and persuasive legal arguments, the ruling may fall short of its potential. If the coalition succeeds, the Advisory Opinion could reshape how nations are held responsible for emissions, how climate-related health and economic damages are assessed, and what constitutes a violation of international law. This would not directly change a single power plant or pipeline tomorrow, but it would create a binding legal framework that governments, courts, and campaigners could use to demand faster, fairer climate action worldwide. The £2.5 million requested from Wellcome Trust funds the evidence-gathering and legal capacity-building needed to make that case.