To describe ANU Law student Annika Reynolds as an overachiever is an understatement, with their insightfully impressive resume, bountiful knowledge, and impressive leadership skills for someone so young.

Founding GreenLaw while still at university, the young person-led organisation has been focused on empowering the next generation of lawyers to be integral within environmental and climate change reform.  

“Young people are so often wheeled out at events to give incredibly difficult and emotional speeches or they’re on the streets crying out saying, ‘hey, we want action’ and then the adults are like ‘wow, we feel so inspired … get off the stage, it’s time for the adults to speak’,” Annika said.

“I don’t think that’s appropriate given that young people are deeply concerned about the climate crisis and have the skills and creativity to tackle it, and because it’s our generation that will be paying for all of the legislative, administrative and political decisions they make today.”

They said young people deserve and need to have a seat at the decision-making table because they have a massive stake in climate action.

“GreenLaw provides a space to empower and leverage the expertise of young people to be in the guts of legal climate action, which is about real law reform, real policy development, chatting to real decision makers and people in power about the reforms that we need to see,” they said.

A particular focus of GreenLaw is elevating Indigenous voices within the climate space, as Annika said the reality is Indigenous Australians have been leading environmental advocacy since day one – and that was over 65,000 years ago.

“Colonisers came here and brutalised the landscape that was being well cared for, that was where a stewardship model of environmental management was in place, to the great benefit of the entire ecosystem. Indigenous Australians are integral, both because of the healing that is necessary for colonisation, but because they have immense expertise,” they said.

“It is not the responsibility of Indigenous Australians to engage in that healing [from colonisation]. Indigenous Australians didn’t commit the wrongs of destroying the ecosystems in this country – that has been done by white colonists and we are really lucky that Indigenous Australians are still actively holding their hand out for healing and to share their expertise and the way they manage the land sustainably.”

When it comes to their work in the political environmental law space, Annika said they are under no illusion as to the Federal Government’s lack of climate action, and that the solutions are clear.

“The Federal Government is not listening. Not at all. Everything I read about federal commitments it’s setting up for an election – it’s really, really blatant. The reason I’m so cynical about any announcement that’s come up is because there’s been no legislative action,” they said.

“Everything that we see behind the scenes, like opening up the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory, the deliberate misinformation about the climate funding that’s coming out, tells me the government is covering its back for an election and has no real commitment.”

A queer young person in the environmental movement, Annika said their greatest achievement in life so far is finishing law school, yet there are many accomplishments to celebrate.

Preparing to graduate from their Bachelor of International Security Studies and Law Degree with Honours, Annika surely has their hands full with their work as founder and CEO of GreenLaw, youth chair of the Environment and Human Rights Sub-Committee of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, board director for Zero Emissions Noosa Inc, general member of the LBGTIQ+ Ministerial Advisory Council to the ACT Government, and co-founder of the Rainbow Bee-Eaters LBGTIQA+ Group.

Most recently, Annika received an honourable mention for the Moira and John Rowland Young Environmentalist of the Year Award at the 2021 ACT Environment Awards at the Conservation Council.  

“I absolutely have hope for the future. People want change, ordinary people want change. I talk to people all the time who say I am willing to pay for the future of everyone. I am willing to make sacrifices for the next generation and the ecosystem,” Annika smiled.

“The question is, will we get to net zero in a way that minimises the loss to humans and non-human species? Will we resolve other systemic injustices? Will we appropriately make polluters pay for what they’ve done to the climate? They’re the fights we are having, but I believe we will get there.”

(Annika Reynolds uses they/them pronouns.)

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