Indigenous Australians living on a string of climate-threatened islands have lost a landmark court case to hold the government responsible for lacklustre emissions targets, dealing a blow to Indigenous rights in the country.

Australia’s Federal Court ruled on Tuesday that the government was not obliged to shield the Torres Strait Islands from the effects of climate change

“The applicants have not succeeded in making their primary case in negligence. The Commonwealth did not and does not owe Torres Strait Islanders the duty of care alleged by the applicants in support of their primary case,” Justice Michael Wigney was quoted by SBS news outlet as saying in his ruling.

Scattered through the warm waters off Australia’s northernmost tip, the sparsely populated Torres Strait Islands are threatened by seas rising much faster than the global average.

Torres Strait elders have spent the past four years fighting through the courts to prove the government failed to protect them through meaningful climate action.

“I thought that the decision would be in our favour, and I’m in shock,” said Torres Strait Islander Paul Kabai, who helped to bring the case.

“What do any of us say to our families now?”

Full Article