(Brussels, July 23, 2025) – The European Union (EU) should insist that human rights are at the center of its climate discussions with China, including supply chain transparency, credible safeguards against forced labor, and the rights of environmental defenders, Climate Rights International said today.

The EU–China Summit, marking 50 years of diplomatic ties, will be held in Beijing on July 24. The agenda includes climate and trade topics, although the details remain vague. While the sides are expected to discuss renewable energy and the green transition, the signing of a joint climate declaration was reportedly stalled because Beijing has not committed to enhanced greenhouse gas reductions.

“Any conversation about the climate crisis that ignores human rights is incomplete,” said Lotte Leicht, Advocacy Director at Climate Rights International. “Neither China nor any other country can build a just transition on a foundation of forced labor, censorship, and dispossession. The EU should make it clear to the Chinese government that climate action and human rights are not parallel tracks — they are the same road.”

China has become a global powerhouse in renewable energy, investing heavily in wind, solar, hydropower, and electric vehicles. Officials have pledged to peak greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060, while promoting green development through initiatives like the Green Silk Road. But these climate commitments are undermined by its continued expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. In 2023, China was responsible for 95 percent of all new coal-fired power plant construction globally, locking in decades of additional emissions while presenting itself as a climate leader.

“China deserves credit for its huge investments in renewable energy, but that shouldn’t mean accepting the idea that China can balance building new coal plants by installing solar panels,” said Leicht.

Beyond fossil fuel expansion, Chinese government policies and practices regarding renewable energy production continue to rely on forced labor and opaque supply chains. Research shows that up to 45 percent of the world’s polysilicon, used in most solar panels, comes from Xinjiang, where Uyghur and other Muslim communities are subjected to forced labor in state-run programs. These abuses are embedded in global clean energy supply chains and demand a serious response from the EU and any government that claims to support a just transition, Climate Rights International said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has barred rare earth mineral experts from traveling abroad, further eroding transparency in sectors critical to the global energy transition.

Climate-related human rights concerns are not confined within China’s borders. For example, environmental destruction and serious human rights abuses characterize the Chinese government’s investment and operations related to the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline in Uganda — a project led by the state-owned Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) and French fossil fuel giant, TotalEnergies – and have led to strong criticism and public protests from the #StopEACOP campaign and local activists. In Indonesia, Chinese government-backed companies involved in nickel mining and smelting have drawn criticism from Indigenous groups and others for land grabbing, air and water pollution, intimidation of local residents, and the building of polluting and high emissions captive coal plants to power the industry.

The EU should particularly emphasize the rights and safety of environmental defenders, Climate Rights International said. In China, a once-thriving environment movement, which now faces harassment, arrest, and long prison terms, making it nearly impossible for communities to challenge destructive projects or raise concerns about pollution, emissions, forced displacement, or labor conditions.

The repression of protesters is not unique to China. In many EU countries, peaceful climate protesters have faced growing crackdowns, including criminal charges, pretrial detention, and sweeping restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and assembly. From Germany to France to the Netherlands, governments have responded to nonviolent protest with harsh new laws, threats, and arrests instead of dialogue.

The EU–China Summit is an opportunity to reset mutual expectations on the climate crisis , environmental protection, and human rights. The EU should insist that climate cooperation includes protections for environmental defenders, access to independent grievance mechanisms, and binding requirements on labor standards across renewable energy supply chains. In line with long-established international norms, the EU should also press the Chinese government that when it builds or grants permits for large-scale energy and infrastructure projects it will ensure prior and transparent consultation with local communities and adequate compensation for any harms.

“There can be no tradeoffs between reducing emissions and respecting rights,” said Leicht. “If the EU and China want to build a green future worth living in, they have to make human rights a non-negotiable part of every climate discussion. And they must start at the summit in Beijing.”