Australian climate minister doesn’t have duty of care to children, court rules
- A group of students had argued Sussan Ley must weigh the harm that climate change would inflict on children when approving new fossil fuel projects
- In July 2020, a judge agreed with the eight students, but the environment minister appealed that watershed ruling
An Australian court on Tuesday ruled that the country’s environment minister does not have a duty to protect children from the harms of climate change, overturning a landmark ruling.
A group of high school students had argued Australia’s environment minister, Sussan Ley, must weigh the harm that climate change would inflict on children when approving new fossil fuel projects.
In July 2020, a judge agreed with the eight students, finding the minister must “avoid causing personal injury or death” to under-18s due to “emissions of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere”.
But the environment minister soon appealed that watershed ruling.
On Tuesday, Australia’s federal court sided with the minister, in part because of the “tiny increase in risk” from the coal mine at the centre of the case – Whitehaven’s Vickery coal mine.
“The court is unanimous in the view that the duty should not be imposed upon the Minister. The three judgments of the court have different emphases as to why this conclusion should be reached,” Chief Justice James Allsop said in his judgment.