'A duty of care': Australian teenagers take their climate crisis plea to court

(The Guardian, 1 Mar 2021) Anj Sharma, 16, and her team hope to force change they say is not coming quickly enough from government.

Eight teenagers and an octogenarian nun head to an Australian court on Tuesday to launch what they hope will prove to be a landmark case – one that establishes the federal government’s duty of care in protecting future generations from a worsening climate crisis.

If successful, the people behind the class action believe it may set a precedent that stops the government approving new fossil fuel projects.

As with any novel legal argument, its chances of success are unclear, but the case is not happening in isolation.

It is one of a number of climate-related litigation cases expected before Australian courts and tribunals in the months ahead as lawyers and activists aim to use the law to force change they say is not coming quickly enough from Canberra or, in many cases, state governments.

The lead applicant of the case in the federal court in Melbourne this week is Anj Sharma, a 16-year-old student. Her involvement evolved from her role helping organise a Greta Thunberg-inspired school strike for climate in September 2019, when about 100,000 marched in the Victorian capital.

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The Guardian, 1 Mar 2021: 'A duty of care': Australian teenagers take their climate crisis plea to court

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