Turning up the heat on climate accountability
There’s a new wave of climate change litigation occurring overseas that could soon hit Australian shores. This summer turned up the heat and, on the back of a season of soul-rattling bushfires and damaging floods, our scorched land is crying out for action. We have been burnt and drenched; if ever there was a time to keep the government honest, it’s now. The call is on to accountability.
Despite warnings on the impacts of climate change being repeatedly and scientifically legitimised and amplified, the federal government’s response has been slow and inadequate. It continues to prop up carbon-intensive industries and fails to reduce the emissions reduction target to levels that will allow Australia to do its bit to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature increases to below 2°C. It also maintains our position as the biggest-per-capita greenhouse emitter in The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Our leader cradles lumps of coal while sea levels rise and we choke on smoke. All this makes the case for accountability inevitable and imperative.
Let’s take a look at the types of cases we can bring to keep the coal in the ground, and exactly who we should be bringing them against. There are myriad ways to skin this cat.
The Commonwealth
Public Trust Doctrine and human rights
In the United States and
