Letter
All power to the climate litigators
Ernst Willheim, honorary professor in the ANU College of Law, asks whether Australia has grasped the implications of the International Court of Justice’s ruling that States have an international duty to prevent climate harm.
It was a rare unanimous decision by the ICJ and a remarkable achievement for the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.
Dr Liz Hicks, University of Melbourne environmental-law lecturer, warns the ruling creates significant liability risks for Australia because it is one of the world’s largest fossil-fuel exporters.
After the ICJ opinion, the UN intervened as amicus curiae in an Australian case for the first time: the Australian Conservation Foundation’s challenge to the Environment Minister’s approval of a North West Shelf gas extension.
During ICJ proceedings, Australia argued climate obligations derive from specific treaties, such as the Paris Agreement, rather than broader international-law.
But the Grantham Research Institute notes Australia ranks second only to the United States in climate-litigation filings; global climate cases have doubled since Paris and now number in the hundreds per year.
Although Australia joined the Belém Declaration committing to plan a fossil-fuel phase-out, continued approvals of projects make further litigation certain. All power to the communities fighting back.
Hicks https://lsj.com.au/articles/international-ruling-highlights-australias-climate-obligations-to-pacific-neighbours/ Grantham https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Global-Trends-in-Climate-Change-Litigation-2025-Snapshot.pdf
— Ray Peck from Hawthorn