Renew Economy writes..
Federal environment minister Sussan Ley will appeal a Federal Court order that she has a duty of care to protect young people from the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions.
In a statement made following Thursday’s judgement of the Federal Court, Ley said that she had “formed the view there are grounds on which to appeal” and that she “has now instructed the department to lodge a notice of appeal.”
The decision related to legal proceedings commenced by a group of high school students seeking to pre-empt the environment minister issuing approval to Whitehaven Coal to expand the Vickery Coal Mine.
The students successfully argued that the environment minister owed a duty of care to protect young people from the potential harms caused by carbon dioxide emissions when exercising her powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
In a judgement delivered on Thursday, Federal Court Justice Mordecai Bromberg declared that the minister had a “duty to take reasonable care” to “avoid causing personal injury or death” to Australians under 18 years of age that arose “from emissions of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere.”
The declaration made by the Federal Court was relatively broad, applying to any ‘reasonably foreseeable’ risk that arose due to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, meaning it could apply to a broad range of predicted impacts of global warming – as well as extending to a wide range of industries involved in the extraction and use of fossil fuels.
“Embarrassing:” Ley to appeal court ruling she has duty of care to young people on emissions
Federal environment minister Sussan Ley will appeal a Federal Court order that she has a duty of care to protect young people from the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions.
In a statement made following Thursday’s judgement of the Federal Court, Ley said that she had “formed the view there are grounds on which to appeal” and that she “has now instructed the department to lodge a notice of appeal.”
The decision related to legal proceedings commenced by a group of high school students seeking to pre-empt the environment minister issuing approval to Whitehaven Coal to expand the Vickery Coal Mine.
The students successfully argued that the environment minister owed a duty of care to protect young people from the potential harms caused by carbon dioxide emissions when exercising her powers under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
In a judgement delivered on Thursday, Federal Court Justice Mordecai Bromberg declared that the minister had a “duty to take reasonable care” to “avoid causing personal injury or death” to Australians under 18 years of age that arose “from emissions of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere.”
The declaration made by the Federal Court was relatively broad, applying to any ‘reasonably foreseeable’ risk that arose due to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, meaning it could apply to a broad range of predicted impacts of global warming – as well as extending to a wide range of industries involved in the extraction and use of fossil fuels.
As previously reported by RenewEconomy, Ley has rejected any assertion that climate change was not a relevant part of her portfolio responsibilities as the federal environment minister.
Ley has led attempts to weaken the protections contained within the EPBC Act, claiming that environmental groups were using the laws to levy “green lawfare” on fossil fuel projects.
In an apparent rejection of the Federal Court’s latest finding, Ley announced on Friday that she would appeal the decision. The appeal is likely to be heard by a full-bench of the Federal Court.
It could ultimately set up a High Court stoush over the responsibilities of the environment minister to consider the impacts of climate change when issuing environmental approvals to fossil fuel projects.
