Contributions of Climate Change Litigations in Climate Change in Australia

Introduction

There have been a series of recent cases showing an increase in the number of litigations including the judgment of the New South Wales Land and Environmental Court that reiterated the need for the climate change litigations within Australia. Climate change litigation has been known to involve legal action aiming at preventing damage that is arising from the various activities that are said to be causing the rise in carbon emission hence climate change. Due to climate change-related litigations, there has been a lot of perceived action and inaction within the national land political authorities so that the issue of global warming is dealt with. In Australia particularly there have been a lot of frustrations since there is a slow pace which is also fragmented in nature when it comes to developing regulatory climate policies to be able to overturn the global warming consequences. However, some positive indications are pointing towards climate change especially due to the court cases that are challenging the practices of EIA to take action and reduce the production of carbon gasses. There is also a need for a strong national-level regulatory response to be able to generate enough behavioural change to prevent global warming cases.

Present studies are showing that intergovernmental panels about the assessment of climate change have changed so much in the 20th century. This is because there have been anthropogenic cases in terms of climate change that led environmental groups to call for governments to take action. Climate change has already caused a lot of coastal hazards and adaptive measures are required to be able to prevent this. Some of the actions such as enforcing international treaty gratified by all the major contributors in terms of global warming is required to address cases of global warming. Collective action is required to convert to climate change. In Australia international negotiations have been taking place at a slow pace although presenting litigations as an attractive way to combat global warming despite the drawbacks. Litigation is supposed to force the governments to take some action but it also means that the results are only piecemeal since the intention is not conscientious. Ultimately it is expected that through litigation the overall effect of climate change is expected to be positive. Recent assessments of the litigations that have taken place in Australia show that the environmental groups, affected individuals and corporations have taken up challenges to bring climate change-related actions before the court. The lawsuits have been targeting the government and other related institutions which have not been responsive through their agencies, departments, companies and other major greenhouse gas emitters.

The first Australian litigation took place in 1994. This has opened up for a number of cases which are being brought to the court in terms of climate change. Most of them have been successful. In recent years the Courts have relied on litigations to enforce climate change leading to most of the courts relying on cases and the science of climate reports to be able to make decisions.

Plaintiffs have continued to use legal avenues that are at their disposal. Plaintiffs are using litigations to effect changes in relation to international treaties. This explains why there is a need to collaborate in terms of taking action to combat cases of air pollution and climate change. At the National level in Australia, plaintiffs are using the tort of law. Some of the actions that have been convened include traditional actions of nuisance which are implemented both publicly and privately as well as negligence and other cases such as civil conspiracy.

Concerning the case of the Australian Conservative Foundation v Latrobe City Council it was observed that the Victorian civil must consider the effects of GHG emissions. The administrative tribunal concluded that there were serious environmental effects of greenhouse gas emissions which were likely to be produced by the use of Hazelwood Power Station. This is one example of how litigation cases have been used to promote the safe use of energy by encouraging the use of clean energy.

Research also shows that misrepresentation in terms of environmental credentials is also on the rise leading to customers losing most of their trading practices due to false and misleading conduct of representations. Litigants have proposed the use of administrative law to be able to streamline climate change issues before the courts. Judicial review and some of the advantages in review and proceedings have been used to challenge administrative decisions in relations. Private litigants have also taken part in this action as they are helping the government in enforcing the law for the required mitigation or adoption of climate change. The constitutional law grounds have also offered room for enforcement of the constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment.

In another case, Gray v Minister for Planning, The Land and Environmental Court within New South Wales decided that the greenhouse gas emissions coming from downstream use of burning of coal. Coal production is one of the challenges in terms of carbon foot prints in Australia. It is also observed that the government is more reluctant when it comes to handling coal mining cases.. In this case, the director general decided to accept the environmental assessment as very important when it comes to addressing environmental assessment requirements.

In Australia, certain gaps have been filled using the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to negotiate some of the models and protocols that are committed to enforcing climate change. However, many challenges have been observed when it comes to international treaty regimes due to a lack of proper regulatory enforcement. Climate change is also observed as a problem that is interacting at many levels with the government due to the different types of laws that are being involved in our range of public and private actors. A lot of dynamics are being observed in the form of scientific technical and legal and certainty. There are also simultaneous overlapping and fragmented legal regimes that are affecting climate change. On the other hand, there are difficulties in terms of balancing inclusion and efficiency. Cases of inequality are also resulting due to injustices that are being observed. The possibility of using litigations in climate change regulation is a vision that is used to help solve the puzzle of climate change. Litigation is considered an important way because it leads to inquiry into how other approaches and regulations can be fitted into the overall scheme.

Researchers are also hoping that the continuous use of litigation is important because it opens a strategic way for prompt and wider policy change. In Australia particularly leaked green peace campaign documents are revealing the plans for extensive use of legal challenges to convert cases of coal mining projects which is considered as a wider strategy for stopping the Australian coal export boom. There has been another similar account on plans targeting coal-fired power stations for countries like Australia to quit and refocus on the production of clean sustainable and green energy. Litigation is seen as the only means and mechanism available when it comes to socializing and mobilizing tourism on climate change. Litigation is being observed as a unique option because it is taking advantage of the apparatus of the state when it comes to the achievement of regulatory change.

Similarly in the case of Walker v Minister for Planning the Land Environmental Court also held that there was a climate change flood risk when it came to the project that involved the subdivision and residential development of the land on a flood constraint coastal plane. This was a very important matter and had to be considered by the minister for planning when it came to approval of their plan concept and the project which was under part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in Southwest EPA act. In this particular case, the court ruled that there was some public interest that had implied the relevant matter to be considered especially when it comes to ecologically sustainable development which is a very important concept of the public interest. For this purpose, the court made a ruling that takes into consideration the principles of ecologically sustainable development. There was a need to consider cases of climate change under the flood risk within the coastal plain while coming up with a decision. The courts have helped through litigations to demand that the government consider the public interest when it comes to the fulfilment of the environmental actions under the EPA Act. For example, the Court of Appeal held that when it comes to respecting consent and authority in decision-making according to section 79 c of the EPA Act the merits show that the decisions must be considered in terms of public interest to be able to embrace ecologically sustainable development. This is because this is an essential element of public interest when it comes to decision making and failure to consider them becomes strong evidence for the government's continuous objection to the public interest who are the bona fide occupants of the environment.

Litigation in terms of climate change is also observed as a promotive change that seeks to deploy general and legal norms when it comes to promoting a positive environment and outcomes as a way of regulatory intervention sanctioned or required by the courts. In this reaction, promotive climate change litigation is very important because it is initiated by the state and local government in terms of lawsuits, particularly in Australia. A lot of diverse actors come into play using litigations such as environmental groups, corporations, business organizations, community groups and individuals. When all these parties have an interest in climate change litigation cases it is usually observed that an appropriate dialogue outside the court is usually settled and a particular regulation enforced.

In the case of Aldous v Greater Taree City Council the Land and Environmental Court dismissed and challenged the validity of the council’s report that approved a private developer to construct a new dwelling on a beachfront property all near Taree. In their arguments, the court defended their action by showing that the applicant failed to take into account some of the ecological principles of sustainable development. The council also failed to take into account some of the climate assessment decisions and some of the induced coastal erosion changes that are expected in such areas.

A similar case was also objected to in the case of Charles & Howard Pty Ltd v Redland Shire Council where the Planning and Environmental Court in Queensland ruled that the impact of climate change on sea levels within the flood-prone land does not allow for construction of residential development.

Conclusion

The use of litigation has helped in promoting a lot of climate change in Australia and other parts of the world. Through the use of economic sustainable development principles, it has been easy to meet the relevant considerations before they are caught to be able to embrace proper decisions that are of public interest. The use of litigation has also shown that the courts are ready to overturn rulings by local councils especially if the matter is of public interest. The continuous use of litigation is seen to be a new phenomenon that is gaining a lot of strength and helping push governments to enforce proper laws that are related to environmental sustainability. The only disadvantage is that the governments oblige with low concessions and may sometimes fail to back their actions. Meanwhile, the process of bringing forward litigations before the courts has also been very slow. The differences in terms of low enforcement in terms of treaties with other nations are also a challenge that has been observed when it comes to reinforcing proper environmental changes.

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