The 1.5°C Temperature Target as a Means to an End: Key Implications of the ICJ’s Interpretation of the Paris Agreement’s Overall Objective

Introduction

In its 2025 Advisory Opinion on Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change (AO), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave its imprimatur to the aim of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels as the current ‘consensus target’ of the Paris Agreement (para 224), consciously abandoning the target of ‘well…