Today’s judgment is a resounding vindication of all our demands that governments act decisively on climate change. As yesterday’s IPCC report confirmed, time is not on our side and our actions in the next few years will determine our future. The Appeal Court made it clear that if governments fail to urgently reduce emissions, they are knowingly putting their citizens in harm’s way.

This judgment puts governments all over the world on notice. Ordinary people in Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway and the US are already turning to the courts to protect their human rights in the face of devastating climate change. Governments have no more excuses for inaction after today; they must ramp up their ambition without delay or face the consequences.