A group of 10 Australians, including two Queenslanders, has lodged a case against the Australian Government before the United Nations Human Rights Committee, for failing to protect citizens from climate pollution by coal and gas corporations.
The Hard Truths Case, run by public interest legal centres Environmental Justice Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre and Earth Justice, was submitted to the UN on June 20 under the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
A Sunshine Coast firefighter and a blind Brisbane climate advocate are among the claimants from around the country, each of whom has been seriously harmed by climate disasters.
The case alleges that by continuing to approve, subsidise and support coal and gas for export, the Australian Government is violating its citizens’ rights to life, home and culture.
It is the first legal claim filed in an international court or body against a state for climate harm since the International Court of Justice found last year that states have a legal duty to prevent significant harm to the climate.
Read about the case here.
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