On June 23, 2026, ten Australians, supported by Environmental Justice Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre, and Earthjustice, filed a communication before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) challenging Australia’s continued production and export of coal and gas. The complainants include First Nations leaders, people with disability, young people, bushfire survivors, and people impacted by floods, extreme heat, algal blooms, and sea water rise. The complainants present expert evidence as part of their claim to demonstrate that Australia’s current and projected fossil fuel exports are not even close to an emissions pathway that is consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, and that Australia has no deliberate policy to make the significant export reductions required to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. As such, the complainants argue that Australia’s ongoing support for fossil fuel production contributes substantially to climate change and violates rights protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including the right to life (Article 6), the right to privacy, family, and home life (Article 17), and the rights of minorities to enjoy their culture (Article 27). The complaint further alleges that by perpetuating and exacerbating climate change through its fossil fuel production for export, Australia has endangered and continues to endanger the lives and wellbeing of the complainants, violating Articles 6 (Right to life), 17 (Right to privacy, family, and home life), and 27 (Right to culture) of the ICCPR. The communication asks the Human Rights Committee to assess the compatibility of Australia’s fossil fuel policies with its obligations under the ICCPR.

A central feature of the complaint is its challenge to Australia’s treatment of emissions associated with exported fossil fuels. The claimants argue that Australia bears responsibility not only for emissions released within its territory, but also for emissions resulting from coal and gas extracted in Australia and combusted abroad. In their view, the cumulative and transboundary nature of climate change makes it inappropriate to distinguish between domestic and export-related emissions when assessing a state’s contribution to climate harm and its corresponding human rights obligations.

The complainants seek:
a.        A declaration that Australia’s acts and omissions related to the production of fossil fuels for export are incompatible with its human rights obligations to prevent dangerous climate change.
b.        A declaration that Australia is violating the complainants’ ICCPR rights by recklessly perpetuating life-threatening climate change through fossil fuel production for export.
c.        A recommendation that Australia establish a process to review the compatibility of its fossil fuels exports with pathways to limit warming to 1.5°C.
d.        A recommendation that Australia implement a plan to phase out fossil fuel production for export to align with a 1.5°C pathway, including ceasing public subsidies.
e.        A recommendation that Australia pause approvals for fossil fuel production projects for export until it complies with (c) and (d) above. 

The communication draws extensively on the International Court of Justice’s 2025 advisory opinion on climate change. Relying on the ICJ’s recognition that states have obligations to prevent significant harm to the climate system and to exercise due diligence in regulating activities within their jurisdiction that contribute to climate change, the claimants argue that Australia’s continued expansion of fossil fuel production is inconsistent with its human rights obligations. The complaint further invokes the advisory opinion’s treatment of climate change as a global, cumulative, and transboundary problem to support the argument that states cannot avoid responsibility by focusing solely on territorial emissions while facilitating fossil fuel combustion elsewhere.


Poelina et al. v Australia (the ‘Hard Truths Case’)

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Poelina et al. v Australia (the ‘Hard Truths Case’) - complaint

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

A tax advantage is a fiscal incentive where the government reduces or exempts selected activities, goods or actors from taxes.

A loan is a policy instrument where funds are provided to a borrower with the expectation of repaying the principal plus interest.

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Direct investments by the governments using public funds. This can be to support climate initiatives or integrate climate into other projects.

The processes through which enterprises can identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their actual and potential adverse impacts. Due diligence is the idea that reasonable precautions should be taken to avoid causing harm to people, the environment, or society. It also involves identifying and mitigating risks before they occur.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Using laws and the legal system more broadly to protect vulnerable entities

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Coastal zone and marine-related actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience to climate change

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Technologies that capture and hold energy in reserve for later use.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

The cryosphere is the frozen part of the Earth—it includes sea ice, glaciers, snow, and ice sheets. It helps regulate the climate and weather by reflecting sunlight. Rising temperatures are causing melting, leading to sea ice loss, glacier collapse, and glacier landslides and avalanches. This threatens the livelihoods of around 700 million people who rely on the cryosphere for food, water security, and cultural practices.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Poelina et al. v Australia (the ‘Hard Truths Case’) - complaint

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance