Dr Costa Avgoustinos
@costaavg.bsky.social
Law academic (UTS), PhD (UNSW). I focus on climate change and (its impacts on) the Constitution.
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
"Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature. Unaware that this Nature he's destroying is this God he's worshiping." - Hubert Reeves.
August 20, 2025 at 9:26 AM
"Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature. Unaware that this Nature he's destroying is this God he's worshiping." - Hubert Reeves.
Does anyone else constantly get irritating “03” scam calls? It’s typical Victorians after the one thing they crave: our attention.
August 17, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Does anyone else constantly get irritating “03” scam calls? It’s typical Victorians after the one thing they crave: our attention.
Going to Greek Church (Peters of Kensington)
August 17, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Going to Greek Church (Peters of Kensington)
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
☀️ The difference between delivering solar #energy and the dirty alternatives is clear. There’s no need for extracting finite resources, transportation or wasted energy from leaks and combustion. It’s just the power of the sun, direct to your home or business 🏡 (Re-post these to save them for later.)
August 15, 2025 at 3:41 PM
☀️ The difference between delivering solar #energy and the dirty alternatives is clear. There’s no need for extracting finite resources, transportation or wasted energy from leaks and combustion. It’s just the power of the sun, direct to your home or business 🏡 (Re-post these to save them for later.)
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
#ICJAO “The consequences of climate change are severe and far-reaching. They affect both natural ecosystems and human populations. These consequences underscore the urgent and existential threat posed by climate change,” said Iwasawa Yuji, President of the ICJ.
earth.org/icj-advisory...
earth.org/icj-advisory...
July 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
#ICJAO “The consequences of climate change are severe and far-reaching. They affect both natural ecosystems and human populations. These consequences underscore the urgent and existential threat posed by climate change,” said Iwasawa Yuji, President of the ICJ.
earth.org/icj-advisory...
earth.org/icj-advisory...
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
The ICJ ruling makes it clear that every one of Labor's new coal or gas approvals risks Australia being legally liable for the climate consequences. This should be a turning point. Fossil fuel profits cannot override a climate safe future.
July 24, 2025 at 1:33 AM
The ICJ ruling makes it clear that every one of Labor's new coal or gas approvals risks Australia being legally liable for the climate consequences. This should be a turning point. Fossil fuel profits cannot override a climate safe future.
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
The ICJ affirmed that countries can be held liable for conduct that contributes to significant climate harm, incl. supporting continued fossil fuel activities
"The court said in no uncertain terms that climate impunity is no longer allowed"- Vishal Prasad
www.climateinthecourts.com/world-court-...
"The court said in no uncertain terms that climate impunity is no longer allowed"- Vishal Prasad
www.climateinthecourts.com/world-court-...
World Court Delivers Landmark Opinion On Climate Justice, Confirming Countries Have Legal Duty To Act On The Climate Emergency
The International Court of Justice – the world’s highest court and the principal judicial body of the United Nations – has issued a landmark and potentially game-changing advisory opinion on countries...
www.climateinthecourts.com
July 24, 2025 at 2:49 AM
The ICJ affirmed that countries can be held liable for conduct that contributes to significant climate harm, incl. supporting continued fossil fuel activities
"The court said in no uncertain terms that climate impunity is no longer allowed"- Vishal Prasad
www.climateinthecourts.com/world-court-...
"The court said in no uncertain terms that climate impunity is no longer allowed"- Vishal Prasad
www.climateinthecourts.com/world-court-...
“The climate issue is the Q of our time. It is the interrogative Q that destiny throws at us and the answers we can formulate will decide what future humanity will have
- or if there will be any future. There is no other agenda, no other problem, no other Q."
- Brazilian judge Edson Fachin
- or if there will be any future. There is no other agenda, no other problem, no other Q."
- Brazilian judge Edson Fachin
June 26, 2025 at 12:30 AM
“The climate issue is the Q of our time. It is the interrogative Q that destiny throws at us and the answers we can formulate will decide what future humanity will have
- or if there will be any future. There is no other agenda, no other problem, no other Q."
- Brazilian judge Edson Fachin
- or if there will be any future. There is no other agenda, no other problem, no other Q."
- Brazilian judge Edson Fachin
Italian jurist Luigi Ferrajoli wants a Constitution for the Earth in his 2022 book “For a Constitution of the Earth”. He claims it’s not just desirable but inevitable as we’ll have to get along collectively in the face of climate change (and other threats). Interesting.
June 26, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Italian jurist Luigi Ferrajoli wants a Constitution for the Earth in his 2022 book “For a Constitution of the Earth”. He claims it’s not just desirable but inevitable as we’ll have to get along collectively in the face of climate change (and other threats). Interesting.
"If the [US] Constitution does not contain the guarantee that the citizen must be protected against lethal poisons … this is certainly because our ancestors … could not imagine such a problem at the time of its drafting"
- Rachel Carson, 1962
- Rachel Carson, 1962
June 26, 2025 at 12:01 AM
"If the [US] Constitution does not contain the guarantee that the citizen must be protected against lethal poisons … this is certainly because our ancestors … could not imagine such a problem at the time of its drafting"
- Rachel Carson, 1962
- Rachel Carson, 1962
Important stuff. Also seems to align with “end times fascism” idea from @naomiaklein.bsky.social
I thought this was a pretty nice reference to my recent @crikey.com.au piece, in the ABC
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...
www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/02/n...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...
www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/02/n...
June 9, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Important stuff. Also seems to align with “end times fascism” idea from @naomiaklein.bsky.social
Climate litigation is vital because “all other avenues have been exhausted”.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘All other avenues have been exhausted’: Is legal action the only way to save the planet?
The long read: Monica Feria-Tinta is one of a growing number of lawyers using the courts to make governments around the world take action
www.theguardian.com
May 30, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Climate litigation is vital because “all other avenues have been exhausted”.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Labor just approved Woodside’s gas extension, helping destroy both the future (by unleashing a “carbon bomb”) + the past (50,000yo Aboriginal rock art).
May 28, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Labor just approved Woodside’s gas extension, helping destroy both the future (by unleashing a “carbon bomb”) + the past (50,000yo Aboriginal rock art).
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
I wrote this this in 2022 and just revisisted it, and it really feels pretty relevant
Labor can definitely be bullied, cajoled and pressured into Doing Things on climate, but it takes *real pressure*. An op-ed in the first week isn't going to do it. The attitude of refusing to offend them has to go
Labor can definitely be bullied, cajoled and pressured into Doing Things on climate, but it takes *real pressure*. An op-ed in the first week isn't going to do it. The attitude of refusing to offend them has to go
my theory has always been - it's possible, but only if you push them into it very, very hard
wrote this just after the 2022 win
reneweconomy.com.au/labor-wont-a...
wrote this just after the 2022 win
reneweconomy.com.au/labor-wont-a...
Labor won’t act urgently on climate unless it’s forced to
Labor should be aiming at emissions cuts of 70 to 80% by 2030. There is no shortage of feasible, detailed and immediately beneficial policies to do this. But they won’t.
reneweconomy.com.au
May 7, 2025 at 6:54 AM
I wrote this this in 2022 and just revisisted it, and it really feels pretty relevant
Labor can definitely be bullied, cajoled and pressured into Doing Things on climate, but it takes *real pressure*. An op-ed in the first week isn't going to do it. The attitude of refusing to offend them has to go
Labor can definitely be bullied, cajoled and pressured into Doing Things on climate, but it takes *real pressure*. An op-ed in the first week isn't going to do it. The attitude of refusing to offend them has to go
This election is tough because I don’t know, out of Albo + Dutton, who I love most.
May 2, 2025 at 12:58 AM
This election is tough because I don’t know, out of Albo + Dutton, who I love most.
Some history.
This photo was sent to the Wilderness Society in 1983 after the High Court stopped the Franklin River Dam.
The graffiti is on the charred remains of the 2000yo “Lea Tree” (which was cut down and set alight, seemingly out of spite after the Court’s decision).
This photo was sent to the Wilderness Society in 1983 after the High Court stopped the Franklin River Dam.
The graffiti is on the charred remains of the 2000yo “Lea Tree” (which was cut down and set alight, seemingly out of spite after the Court’s decision).
April 21, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Some history.
This photo was sent to the Wilderness Society in 1983 after the High Court stopped the Franklin River Dam.
The graffiti is on the charred remains of the 2000yo “Lea Tree” (which was cut down and set alight, seemingly out of spite after the Court’s decision).
This photo was sent to the Wilderness Society in 1983 after the High Court stopped the Franklin River Dam.
The graffiti is on the charred remains of the 2000yo “Lea Tree” (which was cut down and set alight, seemingly out of spite after the Court’s decision).
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
Prosecutors say the operation was aimed at gathering information to foil lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry over damage communities have faced from climate change.
Climate activists were hacked. There was a link between the victims and an alleged attacker
Prosecutors say the operation was aimed at gathering information to foil lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry over damage communities have faced from climate change.
www.npr.org
April 15, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Prosecutors say the operation was aimed at gathering information to foil lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry over damage communities have faced from climate change.
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
Fossil fuel companies should be forced to pay the public trillions in damages for the costs of their planetary arson. Instead they are trying to shut down one of the most important and storied environmental groups in the world. It's shameless - and it's not over. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Greenpeace must pay hundreds of millions over Dakota pipeline protests, says jury
Non-profit said in statement lawsuits like this aimed at ‘destroying the right to peaceful protest’
www.theguardian.com
March 19, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Fossil fuel companies should be forced to pay the public trillions in damages for the costs of their planetary arson. Instead they are trying to shut down one of the most important and storied environmental groups in the world. It's shameless - and it's not over. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
“In my six decades of legal practice, I have never witnessed a trial as unfair as the one against Greenpeace.... The law that can come down in this case can affect any demonstration, religious or political" -Marty Garbus, first amendment lawyer
March 19, 2025 at 9:28 PM
“In my six decades of legal practice, I have never witnessed a trial as unfair as the one against Greenpeace.... The law that can come down in this case can affect any demonstration, religious or political" -Marty Garbus, first amendment lawyer
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
I think this is one of my favourite colourful climate chart type things, because it depicts two things at once:
- Things are going to get worse, no matter what
- The degree to which they get worse depends on decisions made today
theconversation.com/my-new-dark-... by @edhawkins.org
- Things are going to get worse, no matter what
- The degree to which they get worse depends on decisions made today
theconversation.com/my-new-dark-... by @edhawkins.org
January 17, 2025 at 8:40 AM
I think this is one of my favourite colourful climate chart type things, because it depicts two things at once:
- Things are going to get worse, no matter what
- The degree to which they get worse depends on decisions made today
theconversation.com/my-new-dark-... by @edhawkins.org
- Things are going to get worse, no matter what
- The degree to which they get worse depends on decisions made today
theconversation.com/my-new-dark-... by @edhawkins.org
💦 2005: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
💨 2015: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
🔥 2025: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
…
💨 2015: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
🔥 2025: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
…
January 12, 2025 at 2:44 PM
💦 2005: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
💨 2015: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
🔥 2025: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
…
💨 2015: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
🔥 2025: “Will this be the disaster that wakes people up about climate change?”
…
For me, my realisation that there was no bottom to the environmental degradation we’ll allow was letting koalas become endangered. An Australia without koalas because we couldn’t stop ourselves … addict behaviour.
i used to naively think that australians would only pay serious attention to climate change after it started impacting the barrier reef (and the vast associated tourism industry) but now i realise there’s literally nothing that’s so appalling that it cannot be ignored
January 2, 2025 at 2:27 AM
For me, my realisation that there was no bottom to the environmental degradation we’ll allow was letting koalas become endangered. An Australia without koalas because we couldn’t stop ourselves … addict behaviour.
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
Me in 2004, teaching 10th graders: For the love of god don't cite Wikipedia, it's not a reliable source
Me in 2024, to literally anyone in earshot: Good ol' Wikipedia, the only thing the internet hasn't fucked up yet
Me in 2024, to literally anyone in earshot: Good ol' Wikipedia, the only thing the internet hasn't fucked up yet
December 19, 2024 at 3:29 AM
Me in 2004, teaching 10th graders: For the love of god don't cite Wikipedia, it's not a reliable source
Me in 2024, to literally anyone in earshot: Good ol' Wikipedia, the only thing the internet hasn't fucked up yet
Me in 2024, to literally anyone in earshot: Good ol' Wikipedia, the only thing the internet hasn't fucked up yet
Reposted by Dr Costa Avgoustinos
"I see opening coal mines as a crime. This is my message on the Australian government's decision to approve 3 new coal mines." - Rabweena Ieete, #climate change activist, Kiribati
The Environment Minister has just approved 3 new mine expansions – Caval Ridge, Boggabri mine & Lake Vermont #auspol
The Environment Minister has just approved 3 new mine expansions – Caval Ridge, Boggabri mine & Lake Vermont #auspol
December 19, 2024 at 6:10 AM
“In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation.”
- Iroquois Confederacy’s oral constitution (requirement of chiefs to think long-term)
- Iroquois Confederacy’s oral constitution (requirement of chiefs to think long-term)
December 16, 2024 at 11:44 PM
“In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation.”
- Iroquois Confederacy’s oral constitution (requirement of chiefs to think long-term)
- Iroquois Confederacy’s oral constitution (requirement of chiefs to think long-term)