Wednesday 28 October 2026:

Two UN Special Rapporteurs have issued formal allegations that Australia’s continued coal and gas approvals are putting young people's lives, health and futures at risk.  

This is the first time the UN – or any Special Rapporteur – has communicated directly with Australia on its failure to address climate pollution from coal and gas.   

The investigators, Elisa Morgera and Astrid Puentes Riaño, are investigating Australia following a human rights complaint by nine young Australians represented by Environmental Justice Australia. 

The Australian Government has now responded, outlining its climate policies but failing to explain how continued coal and gas approvals are consistent with protecting young people from worsening climate disasters.  

The nine young people have lived through bushfires and floods, fled storms and extreme heat, experienced damage to Country and culture, and faced difficult decisions about where they can safely live and plan their futures.  

In their allegations, the UN investigators state that Australia's laws “appear to be ill-equipped” to regulate climate pollution from coal and gas in line with its legal obligations to protect young people.  

Australia’s response highlights a significant gap in Australia's national environmental laws, which do not require the full climate impacts of fossil fuel projects to be assessed before approval. 

The intervention comes just weeks before COP31, when Australia will preside over negotiations, and amid growing scrutiny of coal and gas approvals following the High Court ruling requiring consideration of conditions to reduce climate pollution from coal mined for export.   

Zhanāe Dodd, a proud Aboriginal woman from the Ghungalu, Garingbal, Kaanju, Birri and Wiri people, belonging to the Gurubil skingroup, said:  

“They started digging on my Country at the Gemini coal mine last week. When I found out, I felt like I'd failed. It's hard to explain that feeling.   
 
“As an Aboriginal person, Country is part of who I am. I’ve grown up with a deep responsibility to look after it. There's a real sense of grief that comes with watching your Country being destroyed. How are we supposed to protect Country when our governments keep approving projects that destroy it, and we have so little power to stop them?   

“Caring for Country is a responsibility I cherish, but the threat of coal mining puts enormous pressure on us to fight to protect it. We should be able to care for Country and enjoy being on Country without having to constantly defend it from mining companies. 

“The UN has listened to us. Now I want the Prime Minister to hear what these decisions are doing to our lives and our Country and stop making the problem worse.”   

Maddie McShane, a university student who grew up in rural South Australian farming communities, said: 

“I was a child of the millennium drought and grew up watching farmers live with the struggle of crop failure. In the last two years, we’ve seen it all again: rainfall at record lows across Southern Australia, and farmers wondering how they will be able to plant seeds in soils that are getting drier, hotter, and saltier. 
 
"I moved away from South Australia because I couldn’t see a safe climate future there, but my heart is still with the farming communities I’ve left behind. These communities are hanging on by a thin layer of topsoil, and the federal government has us on track for a climate future of extreme droughts and heatwaves. 
 
"We’ve asked the government to stop pouring fuel on the fire, and they’ve responded by telling us how much they’ve invested in fire hoses. 
 
"They can say nice words about net zero all they want, but they don’t mean anything unless they stop approving new coal and gas projects. 
 
"Don’t you dare try and “politician-talk” your way out of the coal mines you keep digging. You are letting our future slip through your hands like dry soil." 

Maya Farmer, a university student who grew up on the NSW Mid North Coast, said:   

“In 2021, I was in the middle of my Year 10 English exam when a supercell storm tore through my hometown of Sawtell. I remember looking outside and seeing the ground covered in a foot of ice. Homes and businesses were badly damaged, and the roof of the local shopping centre where I worked collapsed.   

“People were still dealing with that damage when I graduated from high school. Many were still waiting for insurance to come through so they could fix their houses and businesses.  

“Growing up, climate change was always conceptualised as a future problem. But young people like me are living through disaster after disaster, right here, right now. We’re sick with worry about what comes next.   

“It's incredibly frustrating watching governments take so long to deal with this crisis.  

“Being part of Generation Justice and now seeing two UN Special Rapporteurs respond to our complaint has given me back some hope and the feeling that our voices matter. I really hope the Australian government listens and takes meaningful action.”   

Senior Lawyer Hannah White from Environmental Justice Australia said:   

“International human rights law requires governments to protect peoples’ lives, health and homes from foreseeable climate harm, with particular obligations to protect children and young people. 

“These UN investigators have issued serious allegations about whether Australia's continued coal and gas approvals, fossil fuel subsidies and inadequate climate targets are consistent with the law. 

“In its response to the investigators, the government has failed to answer the fundamental question: why does it keep approving new coal and gas mines that make climate change worse? 

“These nine young people have lived through fires, storms and extreme heat. They want to stay in their hometowns, feel safe and plan their futures. They should be able to trust that the adults making those decisions are looking out for them and following the law. 

“These nine young people are asking the Albanese Government to put kids above polluting companies – stop approving coal and gas fields and make a national roadmap to protect their lives and futures.” 

Background:   

Generation Justice   

• Generation Justice is a group of nine young people from across Australia who, in April 2025, lodged a formal human rights complaint with the Special Rapporteur on human rights in the context of climate change.   
• Represented by Environmental Justice Australia, they argue that Australia's inadequate climate policies, continued coal and gas approvals and fossil fuel subsidies are incompatible with its international human rights obligations. 
• Read Generation Justice’s human rights complaint and testimonies from each young person: https://generationjustice.org.au/ 

Their experiences reflect a much wider problem, with UNICEF Australia estimating that 1.4 million Australian children are exposed to disasters in an average year, while ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred alone cost children an estimated 2.3 million days of learning in 2025.  

The UN’s allegations  

• In formal allegations sent to Australia on 24 August 2026, and now made public, two UN human rights investigators raised serious concerns about Australia's climate laws and policies, including in relation to:  
• Continued coal and gas approvals and fossil fuel subsidies  
• The adequacy of Australia's 2035 climate target and its alignment with limiting warming to 1.5°C  
• Whether the coal and gas approvals process adequately assesses environmental and human rights impacts, including harm to communities overseas  
• Disproportionate impacts on children and young people, particularly First Nations children and children with disabilities  
• Access to justice and fossil fuel industry influence on climate policy.  
• The investigators asked the Albanese Government to explain how it is addressing these concerns and protecting people's rights, including those of communities in the Pacific.  
• The letter was issued jointly by Elisa Morgera, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, and Astrid Puentes Riaño, UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.  
• Both are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. Their mandate is to raise allegations and concerns with governments, request explanations and recommend action.   
• Their communication to Australia also refers to the International Court of Justice's July 2025 advisory opinion on states' obligations in respect of climate change, including obligations to protect the climate system and prevent significant harm.   

Australia’s response  

• The Australian Government responded to the UN Special Rapporteurs on 23 October 2026, with its response made public on 26 October. 
• The government did not address the central concerns raised by Generation Justice or outlined in the UN allegations which asked Australia to explain its ongoing approval of new coal and gas projects in light of its legal obligations to protect young people from climate harm.  
• The government did not commit to stopping coal and gas approvals, ending fossil fuel subsidies or strengthening its 2035 climate target.  
• Its response also points to a significant gap in Australia's national environmental laws, which do not require the full climate impacts of fossil fuel projects to be assessed before approval. 

ENDS 

Photos available here, B-roll available on request

Contact: Jessa Latona, 03 8341 3110, media@envirojustice.org.au