A group of law students studying in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu and a human rights lawyer were awarded the Right Livelihood Award on Wednesday for their efforts to make climate protection a legal obligation for all states.

The group, called Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), succeeded in taking the issue of climate justice to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ended up delivering an advisory opinion in July that countries are legally bound to address climate change.

The Right Livelihood prize, dubbed the "alternative Nobel," honors achievements in the fields of environmentalism and international development.

Sudan's humanitarian aid network Emergency Response Rooms, a Burmese anti-corruption group and a Taiwanese advocate of digital democracy also received the award.

What did PISFCC achieve?

The PISFCC was founded by 27 law students at the University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu — one of the nations most at risk from the negative impact of climate change.

Its declared aim was to "get the world's biggest problem before the world's highest court."

The group was aided in its campaigning by Julian Aguon, a human rights lawyer from Guam who also received the award on Wednesday.

Aguon's law firm, Blue Ocean Law, developed the ultimately successful legal strategy behind the campaign.

The prize jury praised the group "for carrying the call for climate justice to the world's highest court, turning survival into a matter of rights and climate action into a legal responsibility."

The ICJ's advisory opinion, while legally nonbinding, does carry some political and legal weight.

Other winners of the Right Livelihood prize

The Sweden-based Right Livelihood Foundation also awarded the prize to several other groups or individuals.

Emergency Response Rooms, a community-led grassroots network, was honored for its aid work during Sudan's civil war.

The prize also went to Justice For Myanmar (JFM), an underground group of Burmese activists that seeks to expose companies that are profiting from and supporting Myanmar's military junta.

The other recipient was Audrey Tang, a programmer from Taiwan who was the country's first minister of digital affairs from August 2022 to May 2024.

According to a jury statement, Tang was honored for "advancing the social use of digital technology to empower citizens, renew democracy and heal divides."

The organization said Tang was a "civic hacker and technologist who rewires systems for the public good."  

"As authoritarianism and division rise globally, the 2025 Right Livelihood Laureates are charting a different course: one rooted in collective action, resilience and democracy to create a livable future for all," the foundation said about the winners.  

Edited by: Wesley Dockery