In March 2021, a group of eight Australian teenagers and 86-year-old nun, Sister Brigid Arthur, filed a class action lawsuit to prevent Whitehaven Coal from expanding, according to Reuters. The lawsuit, which was filed in Melbourne's Federal Court, argued that Australian Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, should protect younger generations from the effects of global warming. If Whitehaven Coal's Vickery coal mine were to expand through the state of New South Wales, it would further harm their futures.