Whistleblowers are critical to addressing the climate and biodiversity crises.

As a key accountability mechanism for exposing public and private sector wrongdoing, it is time we recognise the role of whistleblowers in the pursuit of climate integrity.

But without fixing Australia’s broken whistleblowing laws, the risks for whistleblowers to speak up about climate and environmental wrongdoing will remain too high.

Australians voted overwhelmingly for stronger climate ambition and greater integrity and transparency in the last election, and the clock is ticking for the government to deliver.

With the promised reforms to Australia’s environmental laws delayed, and little to show yet for fixing Australia’s failing whistleblowing laws, it remains unclear exactly what this government will hang its hat on in the lead up to the next federal election.

Globally, climate and environmental whistleblowing plays a fundamental role in holding corporations and governments accountable for climate and environmental harm – harm that because by its very nature it is uniquely and exceptionally collectivist, in that it may impact communities far beyond where the initial wrongdoing occurs.

In this way, it can easily be swept under the rug or misidentified. Whistleblowers play a pivotal role in shining a light on this harm, as the eyes and ears of organisations and government agencies, often with the specific expertise to identify where something has gone wrong.

At the 2024 Climate Integrity...

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