Prominent Australians call for climate laws to protect future generations

Dec 11 2024
ABC News

young woman with long dark hair wearing a navy blue blazer stands with arms crossed in room with warm wall lighting
Climate activist Anjali Sharma is passionate about safeguarding a future for her generation and the planet.

In short:   
High-profile Australians have signed a letter to the federal government demanding climate protection laws.

Spearheaded by young activist Anjali Sharma, it asks the government to consider the health and wellbeing of future generations when making climate change decisions.

What’s next?
The initial proposal was rejected by a Senate inquiry, but the young activists are hoping to negotiate  with the government on the bill.


A number of prominent Australians have written to the federal government urging them to introduce a law that would compel politicians to consider the health and wellbeing of future generations when making decisions related to climate change.     

The campaign for what's known as duty of care laws is being spearheaded by youth climate activist Anjali Sharma, who previously sued the government over a coal mine expansion. 

The letter has been signed by former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, Pacific leaders such as the Vanuatu climate envoy Ralph Regenvanu, author Tim Winton, former Liberal leader John Hewson, Olympian Emma McKeon, former Socceroo and activist Craig Foster, and businesswoman Lucy Turnbull, alongside other organisations and individuals.

A composit image of Grace Tame and Tim Winton
Grace Tame and Tim Winton are both signatories of a letter demanding a "duty of care" from the government.

It was released to coincide with the confirmation that 2024 was the hottest year on record.   

"A child turning 10 years old this year has lived through the 10 hottest years on record. How many more records will be broken in this child's lifetime? How many more broken records will future generations witness?" the letter read.

Climate change will affect "the lives of today's children tomorrow and those of their children much more than ours", the UN's climate reports have found.

They say unless there are drastic cuts to emissions there will be more disasters, heat stress and less water and food availability.

A government's 'duty of care'
Ms Sharma worked with independent senator David Pocock to propose a duty of care amendment to the Climate Change Act in 2023.

"[It's] basically to ensure that government decision-makers, when making decisions in the realm of climate change, must do so with the health and well-being of young people as a paramount consideration," Ms Sharma said.

Anjali stands next to David Pocock surrounded by media
Climate activist Anjali Sharma and Independent senator David Pocock at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra in 2023.

It would apply to projects releasing more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over their lifetime and "broaden the grounds on which the government decision-makers have to scrutinise their decisions by", according to Ms Sharma.

"Right now, that's things like biodiversity, like endangered species. But there's no consideration in there of future generations. And to us, that seems ridiculous," she told the ABC.   

The proposal was rejected by a Senate inquiry, which concluded the bill would fail to achieve its aim. It did, however, concede that policies and assessments would benefit from more emphasis on the implications for children and future generations.

The government agreed with the inquiry's findings, adding that it was already taking strong action to cut greenhouse gas emissions which was central to protecting Australian children.

In its response, the government noted it was considering how to make use of the Australian Human Rights Commission's Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool in a climate change context.

The tool is a checklist that helps governments assess how new laws and policies affect children's rights and wellbeing and whether those decisions are in their best interest.

A view behind of a student on stage with short brown hair raising her fist in the air, a large crowd is blurred in front of her.
A student speaks on stage at a School Strike 4 Climate rally in Sydney.

Ms Sharma and the young activists supporting her campaign want to use the inquiry's findings to negotiate with the government on the bill, saying it would help move politics beyond the "short-termism that we've seen plague our politics for so long."

"They make decisions to ensure that in three years they'll be delivered right back," Ms Sharma said.

In response to questions from the ABC, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen gave no indication as to whether the government would reconsider the proposed duty of care laws, but agreed that "climate action is needed".

Suing the government   
This legislative push for a duty of care is the latest iteration of a long campaign for the 20-year-old climate activist.

Ms Sharma was the lead litigant in a landmark case where eight young Australians sued then-environment minister Sussan Ley in 2021. They argued the minister had a duty to consider how her decision on a coal mine expansion would affect their health and wellbeing.

whiteknight wrote on Jan 11^th, 2025 at 6:33am:


I'd suggest if Anjali Sharma wants to make a difference she should head to her birth country - India.

Plenty to do there.

Well, seeing as the government has abandoned their "duty of care" regarding Covid, especially deaths in Aged Care, I'm pretty sure they also couldn't care less about people being affected by climate change.

Besides, Australia isn't the problem here.

And, a large part of this problem is caused by what you see in the attached image. When is something going to be done about that (especially as the majority of air travel is frivolous holidays)?

I won't be holding my breath (although we may all have to do that eventually when we end up not being able to breathe the polluted air worldwide).