{"id":395074,"date":"2025-08-14T19:50:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T17:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=395074"},"modified":"2025-08-14T19:50:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T17:50:08","slug":"despite-international-courts-climate-science-is-not-the-law-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=395074","title":{"rendered":"Despite International Courts, Climate Science Is Not the Law in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gary Abernathy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Illustration<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This article originally was published at The Empowerment Alliance<\/a> and is re-published here with permission. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not everyone is on board with President Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d philosophy, its importance when it comes to energy is brought into sharp focus when considering where the U.S. would be if it capitulated to the whims of global organizations like the United Nations or obeyed the verdicts of world courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The frightening attitudes of believers in global rule were recently on display courtesy of a New York Times opinion piece headlined \u201cClimate Science is Now the Law<\/a>,\u201d penned by three writers who are all part of something called the Center for International Environmental Law. In their article, the authors claim, \u201cThe science on climate change has long been settled. Now the law is, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did this phenomenon occur? The writers inform us that the International Court of Justice \u2013 the judicial branch of the United Nations \u2013 has ruled on a petition from \u201cthe South Pacific archipelago nation of Vanuatu and other climate-vulnerable countries, with the help of Pacific Island students\u201d who \u201csecured\u201d a U.N. resolution asking the court \u201cto clarify what existing international law requires governments to do about climate change and what legal consequences they face if their failure to uphold the law causes serious harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result? Not a surprise. The court ruled that \u201ccountries must protect citizens from the \u2018urgent and existential threat\u2019 of climate change. When a country fails to curb greenhouse gas emissions \u2014 whether by producing or consuming fossil fuels, approving new exploration to find them or subsidizing the industry \u2014 it may be held liable for \u2018an internationally wrongful act,\u2019 the court\u2019s 15 judges said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors conclude, \u201cThis makes it much harder for any government or company to say that rules don\u2019t apply to them or they don\u2019t have to act. \u2026 It is a cease-and-desist notice to fossil fuel producers.\u201d So there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One can easily imagine the Biden administration subjugating itself to the international judiciary. Fortunately, the Trump administration \u2013 remembering that little document called the U.S. Constitution \u2013 treats rulings from international courts with the same level of respect paid to \u201cDo Not Remove\u201d tags on couch cushions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about the same time that the International Court of Overstep was issuing its decree for nations to kneel at the feet of the wind and solar gods, the Trump administration took another giant leap in its race to reverse Biden\u2019s disastrous energy policies. On July 7, the Energy Department unveiled its \u201cReport on Evaluating U.S. Grid Reliability and Security<\/a>,\u201d as required under President Trump\u2019s April executive order to examine the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis methodology equips DOE and its partners with a powerful tool to identify at-risk regions and guide federal interventions to prevent power outages, accelerate data center deployment, and ensure the grid keeps pace with explosive load growth driven by artificial intelligence and reindustrialization,\u201d the DOE reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than follow international directives and judgments to rid itself of energy sources like natural gas, which is necessary to power technology, manufacturing and the coming AI data centers, the DOE is, fortunately, doing the exact opposite. Among the biggest DOE findings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n