The International Court of Justice called global warming an “urgent and existential threat” at a closely watched case in The Hague.

The ruling was the result of years of efforts by activists and small island nations and initiated by Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, a group of young Pacific Islanders facing the existential threat of rising sea levels,

International Court of Justice determines countries are responsible for corporate emissions and must cooperate to achieve concrete emission reduction targets.

The International Court of Justice is preparing to hand down its first-ever opinion on climate change, seen by many as a historic moment in international law. Judges have waded through tens of thousands of pages of written submissions and heard two weeks of oral arguments during the ICJ’s biggest-ever case.