Australian islanders to lodge landmark UN complaint on climate change

(Eco Business, 14 May 2019) The complaint will be the first legal action worldwide brought by inhabitants of low-lying islands against a nation state, lawyers say.

A group of indigenous people will file an unprecedented legal complaint against Australia on Monday, lawyers involved in the action said, accusing the government of breaching their human rights by falling short on its Paris climate accord pledges.

Eight residents of the Torres Strait Islands, a group of more than 270 low-lying islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea, are set to lodge a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva, Switzerland.

“These are some of the most climate-vulnerable villages and islands in the world,” said Sophie Marjanac, one of nine lawyers involved in the case. “They are very exposed.”

“The science is really stark for these communities about what the future holds - they need serious assistance to adapt and to remain on their islands because … they’re already experiencing regular inundations,” she added.

Australia - one of the world’s largest carbon emitters per capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants - is among 185 countries that have ratified the Paris Agreement to tackle global warming.

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Eco Business, 14 May 2019: Australian islanders to lodge landmark UN complaint on climate change