In support of a statutory duty of care to mitigate the impact of climate change – a tripartite argument

In August 2023, Senator David Pocock introduced to the Senate the Climate Change Amendment (Duty of Care and Intergenerational Climate Equity) Bill 2023 (Cth) (‘the Bill’), which seeks to establish a statutory duty of care to avert harm to the health and wellbeing of current and future Australian children by the Commonwealth Government when making decisions that may cause significant greenhouse gas emissions. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill describes climate change as ‘having increasingly significant impacts in Australia, in the Pacific region and across the globe’ and outlines how the damage to ‘Australia’s economic prosperity, environment, and our health and wellbeing is severe and getting worse’.
This post articulates how the Bill addresses key gaps and delays in common law and legislation, improves Australia’s compliance with international law, and has the potential to create a useful climate change mitigation governance tool.