Nine young Aussies make UN climate complaint against Australian government

Nine young Australians have filed a climate complaint with the United Nations, arguing that the Australian government has failed to protect their human rights to life, health and culture and ensure a safe future in the climate crisis.The human rights complaint has been made possible by the support of a legal team from Environmental Justice Australia, a Melbourne-based public interest legal organisation that uses litigation and legal advocacy campaigns to hold power to account.The diverse group of young people, hailing from across the country, have called themselves ‘Generation Justice’ and have told the the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Climate Change that the Australian government’s failure to act urgently on climate change has become a a pattern of cumulative harm that is violating the human rights of young people across Australia.

As a result, the rights of children, people living with disabilities, First Nations people and vulnerable communities already impacted by climate change are being breached, they say.“Our clients have witnessed firsthand the sweltering heat, bleached coral reefs and bushfires fuelled by climate change,” Environmental Justice Australia senior lawyer Hannah White said. “They say the Australian Government is failing to comply with international obligations to protect their human rights.



” Fellow senior lawyer Michaela Vaughan added, “Our clients want the Special Rapporteur to put a global spotlight on Australia’s climate inaction and pressure it to protect the rights of young Australians.” Generation Justice is calling for the UN to investigate the Australian government, provide recommendations and hold it to account for failing to protect their human rights to life, health, culture, and a safe future. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Generation Justice (@generation.

justice.aus)As Australia has no national human rights act and no duty of care enshrined in law, the group have decided to approach the Special Rapporteur on Climate Change, which 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. “No country wants to be seen as neglecting human rights, so [we] hope this will create global pressure on Australia to cut its polluting emissions,” the group noted in a statement.

In their formal complaint to the Special Rapporteur, the group have accused the Australian government of violating their human rights by failing to meaningfully and ambitiously reduce the effects of climate change.They have also described Australia’s climate targets as ‘weak’, and accused the government of expanding fossil fuels and giving billions of dollars in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The complaint contains evidence of the harm that young people in Australia are experiencing, and proclaims that these failures violate their rights under international law.

“While they drag their feet on climate action, we’re living through heat waves, bushfires, floods, and rising seas – our childhoods and futures have been stolen by their inaction,” 19-year old group member Maya Farmer said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Environmental Justice Australia (@enviro_justice_australia)“My high school life was punctuated by a series of natural disasters in my region, such as the Black Summer bushfires and terrible hailstorms that wrought extensive damage. Living with climate change is highly stressful.

But losing hope is not an option. That is how I find the motivation to continue advocating for climate justice, even at my most anxious, frustrated or disillusioned. It’s a cliché, but we genuinely do only have one planet.

”Farmer, who grew up on the northern coast of NSW, has been involved in climate advocacy since she was 16, lobbing politicians in Canberra and organising fundraising concerts. She said she has channelled her fear into action by joining youth and student climate campaigns.“I’m constantly disappointed in my government’s inaction in contributing to climate emission reductions,” she said.

Fellow Generation Justice member Chris Black, said he and his friends have lost the chance to “just be kids.”“We’re filing this complaint with the UN to make sure we don’t lose our future too,” Black, 18, said. “We prepared this complaint during the uninspiring and unambitious Labor government, but our message is even more urgent if a Coalition government gets in.

”Black, who is currently in Year 12 and studying remotely to manage his disabilities, has previously made a human rights complaint to a UN Special Rapporteur.“I first filed one in 2021 when I was 14, after living through the Black Summer bushfires and Cyclone Seroja gave me climate-triggered anxiety,” he explained. “Now, I’ve just seen things getting worse.

” “Climate change isn’t some future threat – it’s already impacting my life. I live with anxiety and disabilities that give me a higher risk of climate-related harm. I worry about the impact of climate change on my partner, an Aboriginal man, and his family.

”Like Farmer, he has been fighting for climate justice for a while, including cleaning beaches, going to rallies and advising his local council. He said that the Australian government continues to ignore young people, so taking the case to the UN was the logistical next step. “I believe the Australian government’s inaction is holding my generation back from the future we deserve,” he said.

“I want them to stop funding fossil fuel projects, listen to young people and protect First Nations culture and heritage.” Now, the group will wait for the Special Rapporteur, Elisa Morgera, to consider the complaint, which might include a visit by her to Australia to see firsthand how climate change is affecting young people. She may eventually ask the Australian government for a response.

As the Special Rapporteur, Morgera is an independent human rights expert appointed by the UN to probe, report on and advise on specific themes or countries.Generation Justice hopes Morgera will raise the concern with the government and with the UN Human Rights Council or General Assembly. Ultimately, they hope that the complaint will force the government to take stronger action and generate global pressure to cut emissions and protect the future of young people.

For Larrakia man, Connor Wright, the stakes are high and threaten the continuation of his family’s cultural legacy. “Climate change is threatening everything I know,” he said. “Seasonal shifts are disrupting Larrakia cultural practices.

Our knowledge is tied to the land, the tides and the weather, but as the climate changes, so does our ability to pass down traditions. It feels like a second wave of colonisation – another force stripping Indigenous people of our way of life.”Wright, 27, has worked in the oil and gas industry and has seen the destruction firsthand.

He said he feels imprisoned by the knowledge of the consequences of government inaction, and said the government has betrayed young people and Indigenous communities. “Will our land still be there for future generations? That question keeps me up at night. The Australian government must stop fuelling the crisis and start protecting our future,” he said.

Earlier this year, Morgera told the Guardian in an exclusive interview, “It’s hard to re-imagine a system that’s been so long in the making and the dominating views are so embedded ...

especially by those who have been privileged enough not to bear the brunt of climate change yet or have more trouble seeing the bigger picture.”“Whereas for the countries most impacted, it’s just so obvious what’s not working and what we need to do,” she said. “Fundamental reform is possible, if there is a willingness by the states and the secretariat, but it’s hard to see that at the moment.

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