Author: Ms Chhaya Bhardwaj, Associate Professor at O P Jindal Global University, and PhD Scholar at Dublin City University.

Following the ICJ advisory opinion on climate change, several debates and speculations concerning the inclusion and domestication have occurred. Vanuatu’s proposal to implement the advisory comes as a Draft Resolution set to be tabled before the United Nations General Assembly. The draft itself is one of the most tangible tools for seeking political commitments from various states and bringing them to see a collective vision to act in accordance with their climate obligations.

In the context of India, however, the domestication of the climate obligations enunciated by the ICJ could entail a very broad range of international, regional, and national measures. The idea of welcoming the ICJ climate advisory “fully and unreservedly” can be guided by the continuing conflict, competition, and coherence in India, layered with the common but differentiated responsibility depending on the respective capabilities in India (CBDR-RC). The Indian domestication of the ICJ opinion has not been reflected in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution, submitted in April 2026. Without mentioning the advisory, however, India commits and intends to take action to reduce its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions.

One of the areas in which the ICJ climate advisory, and the layers of conflict, competition, coherence and CBDR-RC are visible is the issue of Pollution. The ICJ has clarified that GHG emissions are pollutants under international law. The Indian submission (State practice) confirmed before the ICJ that, in its domestic practice and opinion, India does not consider GHG emissions as pollutants (para 17). This submission is confirmed by the Indian domestic jurisprudence in Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action (ICELA) v. MoEF, in which the National Green Tribunal held that a certain GHG cannot itself be characterised as a pollutant and may need scientific study. This domestic and international Indian state practice seems to be in conflict with ICJ advisory opinion on climate change.

If the Indian government has to “fully and unreservedly” welcome the ICJ advisory, it needs to work towards eliminating this conflict and work towards coherence. One way to ensure this coherence is to embrace the fact that the current international order does nothing to eliminate the competition that enables a fossil-fuel-based development. This means that there is a lack of adequate capacity building, international cooperation and support, which could accelerate a pollution-free development in India. The lack of capacity in India intensifies when India continues to receive global waste, especially from the US and the European Union. The lack of robust environmental regulations makes India a choice for dumping waste from developed countries. However, as a developing country which seeks economic development for millions of people in India, strengthening environmental regulations in India would mean not being competitive enough (with lesser regulations), to become the first choice of country where developed countries’ waste could be dumped.

Pollution is just one of the sectors where there are several nuances in how India will welcome and implement its climate obligations. Due to limitations of time and practicality, I cannot discuss most of the sectoral problems in this piece. I would, however, like to highlight that from an international law perspective, India could invoke its CBDR-RC and its continuing state practice on “GHG as pollution”. Through this invocation, India could emerge as an objector to this rule under international law, and may never accept the international rule that GHG emission is pollution.

There is no doubt, however, that India is already achieving some of its climate commitments, without explicitly referring to the ICJ advisory. According to Raushan, these commitments are manifesting in the National and State Action Plans. According to Rahul, these are manifesting in several kinds of domestic, regional and international actions. Overall, according to Indian state practice, India is on track to meet its climate commitments and will continue to be on track.