Anshika Tiwari-
The Government of Australia said that it would challenge a Court ruling that found that the environment minister has a duty to consider the harm caused to the future generation from Climate Change when approving a new coal mine to expand.
The minister Sussan Ley, without giving further details said that after careful consideration of the judgement, in her opinion there existed “grounds on which to appeal”.
The Federal Court of Australia in May, while responding to a class-action suit brought by eight teenagers, formally laid down the ruling.
In the instant case, the petitioners had argued that the expansion of Whitehaven Coal’s Vickery Project in New South Wales State would contribute to climate change and endanger their future.
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“It’s pretty embarrassing when you think about it, Sussan Ley is now taking it to the courts to prove her right to harm the environment,” said Anj Sharma, one of the students involved in the case, expressing her disappointment.
She added saying, “But we have beaten her once in Court, so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again. The attitude in Australia is shifting. It’s only her, the gas industries and the coal industries that are dragging their feet and sooner or later they are going to have to catch up with the rest of the country.”
Whitehaven, which is Australia’s largest Independent Coal producer declined to comment.
Australia tops the list of coal exporters in the world. It has not signed up to a zero-emissions target by 2050, unlike most other developed nations.
The Sustainable Development Report 2021 released last week. It was ranked last out of 193 United Nations member nations for action taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.