The waters of the Torres Strait flow around 274 small islands between Cape York Peninsula, Australia and New Guinea. These islands are mostly part of Queensland although they have their own regional authority reflecting their indigenous character. Some of the smaller land masses are just three feet above the ocean. Now a group of Torres Strait Islanders are suing Australia for falling short of Paris climate accord commitments.
Climate Change What Torres Strait Islanders Fear Most
The Torres Strait Islanders live on the remains of an isthmus that once connected what are now New Guinea and Australia. Rising sea levels inundated the area around 8,000 years ago and hence they have a real reason to fear climate change.
Storm surges and high tides are becoming commoner. Moreover there is increasing land erosion, drinking water contamination, and property damage. Relatively extreme weather has begun exposing ancestral graves and the Torres Strait Islanders have had enough. Accordingly the islanders have filed a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Committee appealing for relief.
Their Complaint is Against the Commonwealth of Australia
The islanders say their communities are facing devastation from rising sea levels. They fear “their homes, burial grounds and cultural sites could disappear underwater in their lifetimes” according to CNN. Theirs is an unprecedented legal complaint. Others may follow if it succeeds.
The Torres Strait Islanders do not wish to relocate even if an acceptable plan were in place. They want assistance to remain instead. Moreover. they view Australia as a legitimate target because it is “one of the world’s largest carbon emitters per capita”. The island people believe this is because of its reliance on fossil fuel power plants according to Carbon Brief.
We shall watch this item with interest as police arrest Greenpeace activists climbing Sydney Harbor Bridge. The protesters are demanding prime minister Scott Morrison takes emergency action to address climate change.
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Preview Image: The Larger Torres Strait Islands
