Countries must protect human right to a stable climate, court rules

Costa Rica-based inter-American court of human rights says states have obligation to respond to climate change

There is a human right to a stable climate and states have a duty to protect it, a top court has ruled.

Announcing the publication of a crucial advisory opinion on climate change on Thursday, Nancy Hernandez Lopez, president of the inter-American court of human rights (IACHR), said climate change carries extraordinary risks" that are felt particularly keenly by people who are already vulnerable.