CCJ President Proposes Global Climate Compensation Fund

President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Justice Winston Anderson, has proposed the creation of an International Climate Injuries Compensation (ICIC) Fund to provide financial relief to countries devastated by extreme weather events.

Justice Anderson presented the proposal in Brasília, Brazil, during the Inter-American Seminar on Climate Emergency and Human Rights. The forum was hosted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Brazil’s Supreme Court at the start of the court’s 187th Ordinary Session.

While acknowledging that a 2025 advisory opinion of the Inter-American Court placed obligations on governments to regulate companies contributing to climate change, Anderson argued that legal frameworks alone are insufficient. He stressed the need for practical financial mechanisms to assist small, vulnerable states, particularly in the Caribbean, citing the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.

He referenced the existing Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage under the Paris Agreement but expressed concern over delays in securing adequate funding. He noted that while Jamaica was engaging the fund, it could access only about US$20 million despite suffering an estimated US$6 to US$7 billion in damages.

Under the proposed ICIC model, multinational corporations exceeding greenhouse gas emission thresholds would be required to make mandatory contributions through the states in which they operate. The fund would have legal standing and could be sued in jurisdictions affected by major climate events.

Justice Anderson suggested the fund be established through a global convention, modeled after the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, and grounded in the “polluter pays” principle. He first advanced the proposal publicly in January 2026 at a climate justice forum in Barbados.