In the United States’ first constitutional climate change trial, the Montana Supreme Court upheld a ruling in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs, affirming their “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.”
The 6-1 decision guarantees a stable climate for the youth plaintiffs, who argued Montana’s backing of planet-warming fossil fuels violated their rights.
“This ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,” lead plaintiff Rikki Held said.
The court’s ruling comes after two state laws passed in 2011 and 2023 significantly limiting the environmental review of new energy projects. The latter, signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, forbids environmental review of energy permits from evaluating potential greenhouse gas pollution or climate impact.
Both laws were overturned in the new ruling, with the court explicitly citing Montana’s greenhouse gas pollution as “a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment, and harm and injury to the youth plaintiffs.”
In court, the youth plaintiffs illustrated the profound effects of climate change on their daily lives. They described worsening wildfires and smoke polluting the air they breathe, drought and decreased rainfall diminishing mountain snowpack, and low river levels unable to sustain fish, wildlife, recreation, and Indigenous traditions.
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The landmark decision will force Montana officials to “carefully assess the greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts of all future fossil fuel permits,” said Melissa Hornbein, the plaintiffs’ attorney.
Policies such as this, as well as others that deter and restrict fossil fuel usage, are critical in recognizing and limiting dirty energy’s role in polluting the atmosphere and rapidly warming the planet. Rising global temperatures can make weather more extreme and lead to more deadly and destructive disasters, such as last year’s Hurricane Helene or the Los Angeles wildfires.
Dirty energy sources have also been linked to numerous public health concerns, such as cardiac problems, breathing issues, and premature death.
The plaintiffs and their attorneys were overjoyed at the court’s findings.
“I was really pleased to see that the Montana Supreme Court grounded its analysis of harm in the testimony of the youth plaintiffs,” Roger Sullivan, an attorney who represented the plaintiffs, told the Daily Montanan. “I was pleased to see they got both the harm these youth plaintiffs are experiencing, the cause of it as a result of fossil fuels being collected and combusted, and that Montana is one of the actors in this global phenomenon.”
“We have been heard, and today, the Montana Supreme Court has affirmed that our rights to a safe and healthy climate cannot be ignored,” Held said.
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