Climate ICJAO in Antalya

09 — 22 November 2026

This year’s COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye provides an opportunity to defend the outcomes of the AO,  build political momentum, strengthen Pacific leadership, amplify community and youth voices, and engage governments, partners and negotiators to advance ambitious outcomes at COP31.

Six Findings of the ICJ for COP31

It is unanimous, and it states existing law

Delivered 23rd July 2025 by the ICJ. It clarifies obligations already binding under treaty and customary law. It was endorsed by overwhelmingly by the UNGA in May 2026.

NDCs have to add up

Taken together, NDCs must be capable of achieving 1.5°C, and the due diligence expected in preparing them is stringent. NDC’s carry legal obligations.

Cooperation is an obligation

The Court called climate change a common concern and said cooperation between States is a legal obligation, not a choice. This is the basis for reading finance and support as duties.

1.5°C is the goal Parties agreed

The Court treated 1.5°C as the primary temperature goal under the Paris Agreement. Conduct is measured against it, not against “well below 2°C.

Fossil fuels are put on notice

A State’s failure to protect the climate system, including through fossil fuel production, consumption, exploration licences or subsidies, may be an internationally wrongful act.

Breach has consequences

Where obligations are breached, the ordinary rules of State responsibility apply: stopping the conduct, guarantees it will not happen again, and full reparation where injury is shown.

Our Priorities at COP31

  • Across the cover decision and the mitigation, and science negotiations, 1.5 °C should remain the benchmark against which progress is judged. Any overshoot should be kept as small and as short as possible, with a return below 1.5 °C as soon as possible. Texts should make clear that future carbon removal is no substitute for cutting emissions now.

  • The presidency-led cover decision should hold the 1.5 °C and overshoot line, and advance the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in full, not in parts.

  • CMA8 should continue the mitigation work programme beyond 2026, with three purposes: closing the gap to 1.5 °C, taking forward the transition away from fossil fuels, and helping Parties meet their obligations in preparing national plans.

  • The new climate finance work programme should treat developed countries' provision of finance as the obligation the Paris Agreement says it is, and assess whether it is being met. The tripling of adaptation finance needs a baseline and a timeline. The funds should be easier to access directly, including through regional facilities such as the Pacific Resilience Facility. Efforts to align wider finance flows should complement these commitments, not replace them.

Join the PISFCC team at our events

  • The Legal Case for Phasing out Fossil Fuels hosted by PISFCC

    Time: 1 - 1:50 PM
    Venue: Moana Pavilion

    Big Lessons from Small Nations: Championing Health Leadership in a Changing Climate

    Time: 5 - 6 PM
    Venue: WHO Health Pavilion, COP31

  • Fireside Event

    Time: 11 AM - 12 PM
    Venue: Ted Countdown House

    Pacific Impact and Priorities: 16 months on from the ICJ Opinion 

    Time: 12 - 12:45 PM
    Venue: Australia Pavilion

  • From Talanoa to Action: Pacific Wisdom, Ethics,and Climate Leadership

    Time: 1 - 1:50 PM

    Venue: Moana Pavilion

    Customary Lore, Tikanga, and Indigenous Pathways to Climate Justice.

    Time: 4 - 4:50 PM

    Venue: Moana Pavilion

  • The Legal Case for Phasing Out of Fossil Fuel hosted by PISFCC

    Time: 2 - 2:50 PM
    Venue: Moana Pavilion

    "An Inconvenient Truth": Then and Now

    Time: 6:30 - 7 PM
    Venue: Ramada Plaza Antalya, Carnavale 3 Gençlik Mah.

  • From the Hague to Antalya: Making the ICJ Climate Advisory Opinion deliver at COP31

    Time: 4 - 4:50 PM
    Venue: Moana Pavilion

  • No Climate Justice without Land Justice – Bridging Climate, Biodiversity and Human Rights 

    Time: 5:45 - 7:15 PM
    Venue: Peoples’ Climate Summit, Mimar Sinan Congress Center 


    After the ICJ Advisory Opinion: Film screening and panel of experts and frontline Communities holding governments accountable for fossil fuels 

    Time: 6:30 - 8 PM
    Venue: Side Event Room 7

Our team in Antalya