The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday declared that states were obliged under international law to tackle climate change, and failing to do so could leave them open to being sued.
The ICJ said climate change was an "urgent and existential threat" and countries had a legal duty to prevent harm from their planet-warming pollution.
Countries breaching their climate obligations were committing a "wrongful act", the court said in its advisory opinion, which is not legally binding but carries political and legal weight.
Campaigners and countries on the climate frontlines hailed the ruling as an important moment in the fight for accountability from big polluters most responsible for global warming.
The German foreign ministry on Thursday said the ICJ's opinion confirmed that "climate protection is the duty of all states". It described the ruling as an "important milestone".
The EU said the "important" decision "only confirms the immensity of the challenge we face and the importance of climate action and the Paris Agreement".
"It also reaffirms the need of taking collective and ambitious action," Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, told journalists.
China also welcomed the "positive" ruling.
"The advisory opinion reflects the long-term positions and propositions of the vast majority of developing countries, including China, and has positive significance for maintaining and promoting international climate cooperation," said foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.
The British foreign ministry said it would take time to examine the advisory opinion before commenting in detail.
"Tackling climate change is and will remain an urgent UK and global priority," the statement said.
"Our position remains that this is best achieved through international commitment to the UN's existing climate treaties and mechanisms."
The United States, which has embraced a fossil-fuel agenda under President Donald Trump, had on Wednesday given a muted response to the ruling.
A US State Department spokesperson said it "will be reviewing the Court's advisory opinion in the coming days and weeks".
ICJ ruling underscores 'immensity' of climate challenge: EU
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) July 24, 2025 -
The EU on Thursday highlighted as "important" a ruling by the world's highest court that states are obliged to tackle climate change and failure to do so could open the door to reparations.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Wednesday that climate change was an "urgent and existential threat" and countries had a legal duty under international law to prevent harm from their planet-warming pollution.
"It only confirms the immensity of the challenge we face and the importance of climate action and the Paris Agreement, and it also reaffirms the need of taking collective and ambitious action," Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, told a press conference of the ruling.
In a historic advisory opinion, which is not legally binding but carries political and legal weight, the ICJ said countries breaching their climate obligations were committing a "wrongful act".
Itkonen said the commission, the European Union's top executive body, had taken note of the opinion and was currently "looking into the details" of what it entailed.
Brussels would "stay the course" in its push to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, she added.
Earlier this month the EU unveiled its long-delayed target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040, compared to 1990 levels. But it built in contested new flexibilities to win over the most sceptical member states.
China, EU vow to 'step up' action on climate change
Beijing (AFP) July 24, 2025 -
China and the European Union vowed Thursday to "step up" action on climate change, according to a joint statement released as Beijing hosted the bloc's leaders for a one-day summit.
The warming planet is historically an area of convergence between Brussels and Beijing, with both sides signalling a willingness to cooperate on combating climate change.
The EU aims to become carbon neutral by 2050 while China -- the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter -- has pledged to do so by 2060.
Chinese and European leaders "reiterate that in the fluid and turbulent international situation today, it is crucial that all countries... step up efforts to address climate change", the joint statement said.
China and the EU agreed on enhancing bilateral cooperation in areas such as "energy transition, adaptation, methane emissions management and control, carbon markets and green and low-carbon technologies".
They will also accelerate global renewable energy deployment and facilitate access to green technology, the statement added.
This joint declaration "sends an important signal that climate cooperation can still rise above geopolitical tensions", said David Waskow from the World Resources Institute.
Stronger climate leadership from the two major emitters is critically needed to rekindle global momentum after the United States announced its withdrawal from the 2015 Paris accord to curb greenhouse gas emissions, he added.
And while this agreement between China and the EU is a positive sign, both sides "need to get practical", said Yao Zhe, a global policy adviser at Greenpeace East Asia.
"Both should demonstrate greater ambition in reducing emissions and transitioning away from fossil fuels," she added.
A top EU climate official told the Financial Times this month that Brussels would not sign a joint climate declaration with China until Beijing adopted bolder emissions reduction goals.
An editorial in the state-backed China Daily newspaper then accused the EU of playing the "climate card" to get China to change its position on the Ukraine war.
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