'Australia's Greta Thunberg' vows to step up fight

With megaphone in hand, Izzy Raj-Seppings leads thousands of fellow students on a protest through Sydney.

The 14-year-old is one of Australia's most well known student climate activists,

who have skipped school to demand their government take action to tackle the climate crisis.

This is her at a protest last month.

"We are taking a day off school to protest the gas, coal and oil power system that Australia is currently using."

Raj-Seppings was first thrust into the spotlight in 2019.

That's when she stared down riot police threatening to arrest her outside Prime Minister Scott Morrison's home.

She and hundreds of other demonstrators were outraged that Morrison had taken a holiday in the midst of devastating bushfires.

The incident saw Raj-Seppings dubbed "Australia's Greta Thunberg" by local media.

In a recent sit down interview with Reuters, she remained defiant.

"If I could go back and do it again I feel like I would get arrested, because it was such an important cause. "

Raj-Seppings has now turned her attention to the government's plan to extend a coal mine in New South Wales.

She is one of eight teenagers who have brought a class action lawsuit against the project.

The case resulted in a landmark ruling last week.

It said that the country’s environment minister has a moral obligation to children to consider the harm caused by climate change.

But the judge stopped short of issuing an injunction to prevent the expansion.

"I think a lot of people look at us and just say, 'oh, they're kids, they don't know what they're talking about. But, I think they underestimating us and they don't realise how powerful we are and how much work we're putting in."

But Raj-Seppings and her tribe of climate activists face a big challenge.

Australia is one of the world's largest carbon emitters on a per capita basis.

Morrison has repeatedly resisted global calls to commit to a target of net zero emissions by 2050, citing the risk of damage to the economy.

But Izzy has vowed to fight on and had this message for Morrison:

"He does need to wake up, that the time is coming for action and we need it now. We need it this year, before things turn for the worse. We've already seen the effects."