Commentary
On Nov. 25, the Land Court of Queensland rendered judgement in Waratah Coal Pty Ltd v Youth Verdict Ltd and blocked Waratah Coal’s thermal coal project on the grounds of climate change and human rights concerns. This 372-page judgement is important because it considers the alleged effects of the exportation of coal on climate change in the importing countries.
The Court acknowledged that “Climate change was a key issue.” It also noted confidently that “Human-induced climate change is caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, most importantly carbon dioxide (CO2), which is emitted when thermal coal is combusted.”
The judgement also referred to the Paris Agreement, which “sets a long-term global temperature goal of well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial level at 2100, with the ambition of keeping that temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above that level.”…