Held v State of Montana
Youth Legal Climate Challenge
In this very significant case, which has now gone to trial, and is being closely followed especially in U.S. legal circles, 16 young people from the U.S. State of Montana are bringing a legal challenge against their State government, saying that it is failing to deliver the promise in the State’s constitution for a right to a clean and healthy environment. Their challenge is likely to be fiercely resisted by the State’s legislators, a majority of whom are strong supporters of fossil fuels.
Bozeman, Montana by Matthew Lancaster.
The plaintiffs seek to protect the “equal rights to a healthy environment, life, dignity and freedom”. They argue that their State government keeps promoting and supporting fossil fuel extraction and burning, which is adding to the climate crisis and directly impacting their plaintiffs’ lives, health and rights and freedoms.
The case is important on several levels.
It is one of the first real tests in a court of law of the constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment. If the plaintiffs lose the case and the right is not upheld, what does this right really amount to and how much protection does it bring? Several other U.S. states either have, or are planning to include, similar rights in their constitutions, so they badly want to know how the right withstands challenge in Montana.
The case will be an important test too for the Public Trust Doctrine, a line of legal argument to the effect that governments have a legal obligation to protect key resources, water, wildlife, public lands and atmosphere, for the benefit of present and future generations.
Finally, the case will consider the rapidly advancing science of attribution, which will test to what extent measurable impacts of climate change can be legally attributed to individual states (or in other cases even individual companies). As it becomes clearer what measurable effects continued emissions are having on climate, there are going to be fewer places to hide for emitters who want to carry on business as usual.
To find out more, see:
Website of Our Childrens Trust, the organisation behind the case Youth V Gov
New York Times Daily podcast 16 June 2023 - The Kids Take the Climate Change Fight to Court
World Weather Attribution “uses weather observations and climate models to understand how climate change influences the intensity and likelihood of extreme weather events. The studies also assess the role of vulnerability and exposure in the extent of the impacts”.