Why have we filed a human rights complaint with the United Nations?
We believe the Australian government’s lack of ambitious action on climate change is breaching our human rights.
So our legal team at Environmental Justice Australia has helped us lodge a human rights complaint with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Climate Change.
We say this is a pattern of harm with cascading impacts that is violating our human rights as children, people living with disabilities, First Nations people and people already impacted by climate change.
We want the Special Rapporteur to meet with us, act on our complaint and help us hold the Australian government to account for failing to protect our human rights.
Why now?
Our government keeps backing coal and gas like it’s no big deal. Fossil fuels are the biggest driver of climate change, causing over 75% of global emissions. Yet Australia is still the second worst fossil fuel exporter on the planet.
The past ten years have been the hottest in recorded history. For some of us, that’s over half our lives in a world that’s slowly boiling. But instead of hitting the breaks, our leaders are approving more coal and gas (AKA carbon bombs).
What is a Special Rapporteur?
The UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to assess and promote the protection of human rights in the face of climate change.
The Special Rapporteur focuses specifically on the human rights aspects of climate change. As Australia has no national human rights Act and no duty of care enshrined in law, this is an important avenue for us to seek climate justice.
What is our complaint about?
We believe the Australian government’s lack of ambitious action on climate change is breaching our human rights as children, as people living with disabilities as First Nations people and as people already impacted by climate change.
International law recognises the threat of climate change on our human rights, including the rights to life, health, culture, a healthy environment, the particular rights we hold as children and young people, and our right to an effective legal remedy for the harm we experience.
Our complaint includes evidence from us young people across the country, detailing the climate harms we are experiencing.
What do we mean by a "lack of ambitious climate action”?
We believe the government’s failure to meaningfully and ambitiously mitigate the effects of climate change is violating our human rights as children and young people, people living with disabilities, First Nations people and people already impacted by climate change.
This includes setting weak climate targets, expanding fossil fuels and giving billions of dollars in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. Australia’s current climate emissions target is consistent with a world that will warm between 2° and 3°C, not 1.5°C or below.
More specifically, we argue the Australian government has failed to set a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) which aligns with best available science, and which protects us from future climate harms. Australia’s current NDC target is consistent with warming over 2°C and up to 3°C, not 1.5°C or below and its 2030 NDC is “at the least stringent end of what would be a fair share of global effort.”
We also say the Australia government is actively pursuing policies that will increase climate emissions up to and beyond 2050 and which run contrary to its climate targets, including by:
- Exporting fossil fuels beyond 2050
- Continuing to approve and expand its fossil fuel industry. This includes 10 new coal mines or expansions since Labor came to power in 2022.
- Giving $14.5 billion of public money to the fossil fuel industry through subsidies in 2023-2024.
What do we hope will happen?
We want the Special Rapporteur to meet with us, to act on our complaint and help us hold the Australian government to account for failing to protect our human rights – to life, health, culture – for us to have a safe future.
We’re aiming for:
- Immediate action – We want the Special Rapporteur to meet with us, examine our claims and report their findings to UN, putting a global spotlight on Australia’s climate inaction.
- Direct communication with the Australian government – we’re asking the Special Rapporteur to recommend our government take action to better tackle climate-related human rights issues and safeguard our future.
- Make our voices heard – by opening up a dialogue between us and the government, we hope to work together on real solutions to the climate challenges affecting young people across Australia.
- Create global pressure – we hope to bring international attention to our situation by asking the Special Rapporteur to visit Australia, increasing public awareness and encouraging our government to take meaningful climate action.
Through these steps, we’re fighting to ensure our generation’s rights and futures are front and centre in addressing the climate crisis.