The Australian court has turned the landmark ruling which states that the environment minister had a “duty of care” towards the young generation when approving the new fossil fuel projects.
History of the case
In May 2021, eight teenagers along with 87-year-old catholic nun, who acted as the young people’s legal guardian, had taken Australian environment minister, Sussan Ley to court and won.
The case revolved around their attempt to halt the expansion of the Vickery coal mine in New South Wales. This expansion is estimated to add an extra 170 million tons of fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere.
Mordy Bromberg, the judge in the case, ruled at the time that the government had a duty to protect the young generation from impending harm. This was in relation to climate change. This was the landmark decision as it was the first time in the world such a duty of care was recognized.
Current situation
Sussan Ley, the environment minister, appealed the decision. Therefore, the court sided with her on Tuesday morning.
The statement left the teenagers “devastated” according to Anjali Sharma. “Two years ago, Australia was on fire; today, its underwater. Burning coal means bushfires and floods more catastrophic and more deadly. Something needs to change,” she added in a statement.
David Ritter, the chief executive of Greenpeace Australia Pacific has expressed his views on Twitter, “there is no doubt the climate crisis is causing the increased risk to the lives of our kids.”
Furthermore, the Chief justice James Allsop mentioned that the duty of care should not be imposed because of the “indeterminacy of liability and the lack of proportionality between the tiny increase in the risk and lack of control and liability of all the damage by heatwaves, bushfires and rising sea levels to all Australians under the age of 18, ongoing into future.”