Melbourne, Australia — Australia’s government has been ordered to consider risks posed to young people from climate change in a looming decision on a coal mine expansion — a ruling that could set a precedent for all fossil fuel projects.
“The risk of harm that the minister must take reasonable care to avoid is personal injury or death to the children arising from the emission of carbon dioxide from the burning of coal extracted from the extension project,” Bromberg said in the judgment. It’s the latest legal challenge to the fossil fuel industry as climate campaigners seek to use courts to press companies to accelerate efforts to tackle global warming. A May ruling in The Hague ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut emissions faster than planned, and there are about 1,800 climate litigations pending around the world, according to Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
The judgment could pose challenges to any applications for the approval of new fossil fuels projects in Australia, a key global producer of coal and liquefied natural gas. Earnings from energy and mining exports are forecast to rise to A$334bn in the current fiscal year.