Indigenous Australians lose landmark climate court case against government
Scattered through the warm waters off Australia's northernmost tip, the sparsely populated Torres Strait Islands are threatened by seas rising much faster than the global average.
Torres Strait elders have spent the past four years fighting through the courts to prove the government failed to protect them through meaningful climate action.
Australia's Federal Court found the government was not obliged to shield the Torres Strait Islands from climate change.
"I thought that the decision would be in our favour, and I'm in shock," said Torres Strait Islander Paul Kabai, who helped to bring the case.
"What do any of us say to our families now?"
Fellow plaintiff Pabai Pabai said: "My heart is broken for my family and my community."
Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney criticised the government for setting emissions targets between 2015 and 2021 that failed to consider the "best available science".
But these targets would have had little impact on global temperature rise, he found.
"Any additional greenhouse gases that might have been released by Australia as a result of low emissions targets would have caused no more than an almost immeasurable increase in global average temperatures," Wigney said.
Australia's previous conservative government sought to cut emissions by around 26 percent before 2030.
The incumbent left-leaning government in 2022 adopted new plans to slash emissions by 40 percent before the end of the decade, and reach net zero by 2050.
- 'Climate refugees' -
Fewer than 5,000 people live in the Torres Strait, a collection of about 274 mud islands and coral cays wedged between Australia's mainland and Papua New Guinea.
Lawyers for traditional land owners from Boigu and Saibai -- among the worst-impacted islands -- asked the court to order the government "to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will prevent Torres Strait Islanders from becoming climate refugees".
Sea levels in some parts of the archipelago are rising almost three times faster than the global average, according to official figures.
Rising tides have washed away graves, eaten through huge chunks of exposed coastline, and poisoned once-fertile soils with salt.
The lawsuit argued some islands would soon become uninhabitable if global temperatures rose more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The World Meteorological Organization has warned this threshold could be breached before the end of the decade.
While Australia's emissions pale in comparison to the likes of China and the United States, the fossil fuel powerhouse is one of the largest coal exporters in the world.
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Fast Company
4 hours ago
- Fast Company
EU and China agree to take action on climate change
China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during an otherwise tense bilateral summit in Beijing on Thursday riven with major disagreements over trade and the war in Ukraine. The two economic juggernauts issued a joint statement on climate change, urging more emission cuts and greater use of green technology and affirming their support for the Paris Climate Agreement as well as calling for strong action at the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil. 'In the fluid and turbulent international situation today, it is crucial that all countries, notably the major economies, maintain policy continuity and stability and step up efforts to address climate change,' the joint statement said. Their climate agreement was a silver lining on a stormy day where European leaders demanded a more balanced relationship with China in talks with President Xi Jinping. They highlighted trade in their opening remarks, calling for concrete progress to address Europe's yawning trade deficit with China. 'As our cooperation has deepened, so have the imbalances,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. 'We have reached an inflection point. Rebalancing our bilateral relation is essential. Because to be sustainable, relations need to be mutually beneficial.' Little movement expected Expectations were low ahead of the talks, initially supposed to last two days but scaled back to one. They come amid financial uncertainty around the world, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the threat of U.S. tariffs. Neither the EU nor China is likely to budge on key issues. European Council President António Costa called on China to use its influence over Russia to bring an end to the war in Ukraine — a long-running plea from European leaders that is likely to fall again on deaf ears. Xi called for deeper cooperation between China and Europe to provide stability in an increasingly complex world. Both sides should set aside differences and seek common ground, he said, a phrase he often uses in relationships like the one with the EU. China is willing to strengthen coordination on climate and make greater contributions to addressing climate change, he said, but he pushed back against EU restrictions on Chinese exports. 'We hope the EU will keep its trade and investment markets open, refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools and provide a good business environment for Chinese companies to invest and develop in Europe,' he said, according to a readout posted online by state broadcaster CCTV. US tariff threats weigh on EU-China cooperation Besides trade and the Ukraine war, von der Leyen and Costa were expected to raise concerns about Chinese cyberattacks and espionage, its restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals and its human rights record in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The EU, meanwhile, has concerns about a looming trade battle with the United States. 'Europe is being very careful not to antagonize President Trump even further by looking maybe too close to China, so all of that doesn't make this summit easier,' said Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist of the European Policy Center. 'It will be very hard to achieve something concrete.' China's stance has hardened on the EU, despite a few olive branches, like the suspension of sanctions on European lawmakers who criticized Beijing's human rights record in Xinjiang province, where it is accused of a widespread campaign of repression against the Uyghurs. The summit ended with almost no movement on the major issues of trade, electric vehicles, or Russia, said Noah Barkin, an analyst at the Rhodium Group think tank. Rather, frustration from the EU was glaringly obvious 'after years in which its concerns have been largely ignored by Beijing.' He said the Europeans will likely use more 'trade defense tools in the months ahead, including a debate over expanding safeguards and new cases under the bloc's foreign subsidies regulation.' Trade disputes range from rare earths to EVs Like the U.S., the 27-nation EU bloc runs a massive trade deficit with China — around 300 billion euros ($350 billion) last year. It relies heavily on China for critical minerals and the magnets made from them for cars and appliances. When China curtailed the export of those products in response to Trump's tariffs, European automakers cried foul. China agreed during the summit to to start 'an upgraded export supply mechanism' to fast-track exports of critical minerals, von der Leyen said. Details of the arrangement were not immediately made public. Barkin said he doubted the mechanism would be 'a miracle solution for what may become a go-to coercion tool for Beijing in the years ahead.' The EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to support its carmakers by balancing out Beijing's heavy auto subsidies. China would like those tariffs revoked. The rapid growth in China's market share in Europe has sparked concern that Chinese cars will eventually threaten the EU's ability to produce its own green technology to combat climate change. Business groups and unions also fear that the jobs of 2.5 million auto industry workers could be put in jeopardy, as well those of 10.3 million more people whose employment depends indirectly on EV production. China has launched investigations into European pork and dairy products, and placed tariffs on French cognac and armagnac. It has criticized new EU regulations of medical equipment sales and fears upcoming legislation that could further target Chinese industries, said Alicia García-Herrero, a China analyst at the Bruegel think tank. The EU has leverage because China needs to sell goods to the bloc, García-Herrero said. 'The EU remains China's largest export market, so China has every intention to keep it this way, especially given the pressure coming from the U.S.,' she said. China bristles at EU sanctions over Russia's war against Ukraine. The latest package included two Chinese banks that the EU accused of links to Russia's war industry. China's Commerce Ministry protested the listing and vowed to respond with 'necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and financial institutions.' The EU looks beyond Beijing and Washington Buffeted between a combative Washington and a hardline Beijing, the EU has more publicly sought new alliances elsewhere, inking a trade pact with Indonesia and drafting trade deals with South America and Mexico. Costa and von der Leyen visited Tokyo the day before their meetings in Beijing, launching an alliance with Japan to boost economic cooperation, defend free trade and counter unfair trade practices. 'Both Europe and Japan see a world around us where protectionist instincts grow, weaknesses get weaponized, and every dependency exploited,' von der Leyen said. So it is normal that two like-minded partners come together to make each other stronger.'


WIRED
4 hours ago
- WIRED
The ICJ Rules That Failing to Combat Climate Change Could Violate International Law
Jul 24, 2025 12:31 PM In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice declared that failure to act on climate change can be an 'internationally wrongful act'—meaning countries could face legal consequences for harming the planet. Vanuatu's minister of climate change, Ralph Regenvanu, delivers a speech during a rally ahead of the International Court of Justice's session. Photograph:If a country fails to take decisive action to protect the planet from climate change, it could be breaking international law and be held liable for damages caused to humanity. This is one of the conclusions of an unprecedented advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal obligations of states in the face of this environmental crisis. The 15 judges that make up the ICJ, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, described the need to address the threat of climate change as 'urgent and existential.' Unanimously, they determined that signatories to various international agreements could be violating international law if they do not adopt measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The ruling states that a 'clean, healthy, and sustainable environment' constitutes a human right. This interpretation elevates the climate debate beyond the environmental or economic realm, positioning it as an issue of justice and fundamental rights. The shift in focus could significantly influence future international legislation and litigation, making it easier to hold polluting countries accountable for the environmental damage they cause. As of June of this year, according to the most recent report from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment in London, there were approximately 2,967 active climate change lawsuits in nearly 60 countries, with more than 226 new cases initiated in 2024 alone. Yuji Iwasawa, president of the ICJ, clarified that this is an advisory opinion, not a binding ruling. However, he expressed that the court hopes that this pronouncement will 'inform and guide social and political action to address the ongoing climate crisis.' The case leading to this opinion originated in 2019, when a group of students from Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, began pushing for government inaction on the climate crisis to be legally recognized as an 'existential risk.' Subsequently, Ralph Regenvanu, the country's minister of climate change, filed a formal complaint with the ICJ. In 2023, the UN General Assembly formalized the request for an advisory opinion from the court. The judges answered two key questions: What are the obligations of states under international law to protect the climate system and environment from greenhouse gas emissions? And what are the legal consequences for countries that, by action or inaction, cause significant damage to the climate, especially in relation to vulnerable island states and present and future generations? The court's analysis considered the provisions of international treaties such as the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, among others. The ICJ's assessment concluded that states have a duty, 'by acting with due diligence and using all means at their disposal,' to prevent activities under their jurisdiction or control from adversely affecting the environment. ICJ president Yuji Iwasawa (center) issues the advisory opinion at The Hague on July 23, 2025. Photograph:The opinion stresses that the need 'to prevent significant transboundary harm under customary international law, are obligations erga omnes '—that is, they are obligations to the entire international community. In this sense, Iwasawa emphasized, the protection of the environment is a precondition for guaranteeing human rights. The negative effects of climate change, he added, can hinder rights to water, health, housing, and family life. The court also clarified that what constitutes an internationally wrongful act is not the emission of greenhouse gases per se, but the failure to comply with obligations, both conventional and customary, to protect the climate system. The opinion text stresses that countries in breach of such obligations must assume their responsibility and face the legal consequences of their acts or omissions. If found to be in breach of their obligations, they should stop their unlawful conduct, guarantee they won't repeat their actions if the circumstances so require, and give full reparation to those affected, including through restitution and compensation. 'Where several states are responsible for the same internationally wrongful act, the responsibility of each state may be invoked in relation to that act,' the advisory opinion states. 'What makes this case so important is that it addresses the past, present, and future of climate action,' Joie Chowdhury, senior counsel at the Center for International Environmental Law, told AP. 'It's not just about future targets—it also tackles historical responsibility, because we cannot solve the climate crisis without confronting its roots.' The opinion issued represents a significant victory for island nations and international movements that, for decades, have sought to establish legal mechanisms to hold major greenhouse gas emitters accountable for the consequences of climate change on their livelihoods, well-being, and the survival of their ecosystems. This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.


CNN
6 hours ago
- CNN
5 things to know for July 24: Signal controversy, Epstein files, Birthright citizenship, Thailand-Cambodia, Ohio ‘ambush'
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