Right to a Safe Climate Bill introduced
Imagine a future where our governments have to consider the climate-risk of each and every project.
This could soon be reality in Victoria, where a bold new bill aims to make the right to a safe climate a fundamental human right.
Our current climate laws are woefully inadequate at protecting human rights.
Right now, decision makers have no legal obligation to climate risks, even when approving major fossil-fuel projects.
The ‘Right to a Safe Climate’ bill, launched by the Victorian Greens, proposes to add a new section into the Victorian Charter of Human Rights:
“Every person has the right to a safe climate, having regard to the risks to life, health and property arising due to climate change.”
Whether the right to a safe climate could be enforced in the courts would depend on the circumstances of the case. But the fact that government would be required to consider climate risks is significant.
How does the Charter of Human Rights work?
The Charter of Human Rights is like a moral compass for lawmakers and public authorities, pushing them to engage with human rights issues. When making decisions, public authorities are required to “give proper consideration” to the relevant human rights.
And the Charter makes it unlawful for a public authority to act in a way that violates or is incompatible with a human right.
What will this Bill add?
As well as adding a new right into the Charter, the bill proposes that the right to a safe climate would be implemented via actions which are “reasonable in all the circumstances”.
In determining whether an action is reasonable, a decision-maker can consider the greenhouse gas emissions arising from a particular decision or activity, any relevant State or Commonwealth emissions reduction targets, and the magnitude of loss and damage as a result of climate change.
In practice, the right to a safe climate would mean that a Minister approving fossil-fuel projects would have to consider the climate-related risks arising from that project.
But it is broader than that: for example, a housing or transport project would also need to be considered from a safe climate perspective. If there were clearly reasonable actions that the Minister could take, like requiring that the housing project be properly insulated, energy-efficient, and adapted to withstand extreme weather, they may be obliged to take those actions.
Why this matters
All of us are experiencing the impacts of climate change, but not evenly.
Those who have contributed least to the climate crisis are hit first and worst – like communities living in social housing.
Too often, decades of government policy failures have left social housing badly maintained, with no insulation, air conditioning or solar panels. These houses are often in neighbourhoods with more concrete, fewer trees and higher average temperatures than greener parts of our cities.
During heatwaves, these homes become dangerous to live in, especially for older adults, young children, people who are socially isolated or have disabilities and medical conditions.
Climate change means more extreme heatwaves.
And extreme heat is a silent killer, affecting cognitive function, hearts and lungs. When there are power outages, people can't keep medicine cool in the fridge. Families face unaffordable energy bills. After hot nights, kids can't concentrate at school and adults struggle to work.
Often, people living in social housing are also already experiencing other forms of disadvantage and exclusion. Without safe housing, people are forced to escape the heat in public spaces, where research shows they are over-policed or subject to violence.
Bigger than just the environment
EJA joined Pasifika leaders and young climate activists to discuss the new bill and the need for reform in climate laws at a panel last week.
Youth activists Jesse Dass and Thomas (Toyo) White both have firsthand experience of climate disruption. Despite the urgency of the problem, they’ve seen how decision makers ignore climate risk.
Jesse’s experience fleeing the Black Saturday bushfires revealed just how interconnected climate threats are with health, agriculture and migration. A reminder that we need to address climate risks in all the decisions we make, not just in environmental approval processes.
Thomas’ experience being part of the record-breaking School Strike 4 Climate protests in 2019 left them with a new sense of power and optimism, only to fade when governments repeatedly failed to act on climate issues.
Despite this disappointment, young people continue to push for more ambitious climate action. Their support for the Right to a Safe Climate bill is the latest in a string of demands for reform (following the recent rejection of the Federal duty of care Bill).
A step towards better decision-making
Founder of Engage Pasefika, Anasina Gray-Barberio spoke about how Pacific Island nations have sounded the alarm for decades about the existential threat posed by climate change, but countries causing the problem have refused to listen.
Instead of working to address the problem, countries like Australia sign agreements to take on future climate refugees from Pacific nations.
The Right to a Safe Climate Bill is one step towards more ambitious climate laws.
If passed, it could pave the way for better decisions that take the real and urgent risks of climate change into account.
