THE HAGUE/SYDNEY, Tuesday 3 December 2024 — In response to Australia’s oral submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as part of a historic, Pacific-led climate justice case, the following statement can be attributed to Katrina Bullock, General Counsel at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:
“Today, representatives from the Australian Government stood before the world’s highest court in The Hague and made submissions that completely undermined its Pacific neighbours.
“Australia argued that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement are the primary sources of international obligations to address greenhouse gas emissions. It submitted that government obligations under other treaties or customary laws should not extend beyond these frameworks.
“This position is fundamentally flawed. It disregards decades of international human rights legal developments and directly contradicts the powerful legal submissions of Pacific, African, and Caribbean nations. It also discounts the fact that UNFCCC processes in the recent past have been heavily influenced by major polluters such as the fossil fuel industry.
“The UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement were created to protect people, not to shield states like Australia from accountability. Compliance with these treaties is necessary, but not sufficient to safeguard human rights and the environment. Australia’s proposed pathway forward would see fossil fuel emission reductions be wholly reliant on voluntary obligations and political negotiations.
“The global annual conference of the parties, COP, has shown us negotiation spaces where wealthy developed countries can call the shots have not led to the ambition we need to secure a safe climate for humanity. Where political negotiations have failed, the court must not.”
—ENDS—
High res images of the civil society demonstration outside the ICJ available here. B-Roll footage available here
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Kate O’Callaghan on +61 406 231 892 (CET timezone) or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
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