The presiding judge in a Montana lawsuit, Held v. Montana, that alleges the state’s continued investment in fossil fuels violates young people’s right to a “clean and healthful environment” has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, paving the way for similar litigation across the country in the fight for action on the climate crisis.
At the heart of the case are 16 young people who described how climate change has ravaged their short lives, such as seeing livestock killed by fluctuating weather patterns, and wildfire smoke that strains children with asthma. Montana's state constitution includes an inalienable right to a “clean and healthful environment,” and it’s on that basis that the complaint accuses the state of “neglecting their constitutional duty to preserve and protect the environment for future generations,” wrote Grist’s Katie Myers.
Earlier this summer, Held v. Montana became the first such case to enter the trial phase, leading to Monday’s ruling. Judge Kathy Seeley ruled that “by prohibiting government agencies from considering climate impacts when deciding whether or not to permit energy projects, Montana is contributing to the climate crisis and stopping the state from addressing that crisis,” reported the Guardian’s Dharna Noor. This decision is the first nationwide ruling of its kind, which opens more possibilities for the use of litigation to spur government accountability in climate policy.
“As fires rage in the West, fueled by fossil fuel pollution, today’s ruling in Montana is a game-changer that marks a turning point in this generation’s efforts to save the planet from the devastating effects of human-caused climate chaos,” said Julia Olson, founder of Our Children’s Trust, one of the law firms representing the 16 young Montanans.
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The ruling was celebrated as a win by others in the climate movement. Said Sunrise Movement’s Varshini Prakash in a statement, “From the millions of young people who fought against the Willow Project to the 16 brave Montanans who won their case for a clean environment today, we have proven that Gen Z is a powerful force in the fight against the climate crisis, and we won’t be stopped.” The Willow Project, an oil drilling proposal on Alaska’s north shore that incited a mass outcry against it, has become a sticking point for youth voters ahead of a Biden 2024 run, with organizers and activists frustrated by Biden’s shift from his campaign promises.
“Thank you to these brave young people who today won an enormous victory against climate change in their home state of Montana,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tweeted after the news broke. “It's time for the [federal government] to follow their example and file lawsuits to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for their role in the climate crisis.”
This legal strategy is being attempted in other states facing devastation from the climate crisis, including Hawaii, where 14 Hawaiian young people are suing the state and its Department of Transportation, as previously covered by Teen Vogue. Last week, it was reported that the case will go to trial in summer 2024. The youth in the Hawaii and Montana cases are represented by the same nonprofit, Our Children’s Trust, founded “to sue on behalf of children’s right to a safe climate,” reported Grist.
Climate disaster struck Hawaii last week when destructive wildfires on the island of Maui led to the deaths of, as of this writing, over 96 people, becoming the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than 100 years. The wildfires also destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, the former seat of the Hawaiian kingdom.
It's notable that the Montana and Hawaii cases represent the complaints of Indigenous youth. In the Hawaii case, most of the plaintiffs are Native Hawaiian. The Maui wildfires are, in the estimations of some wild land fire-science experts, a direct result of US colonialism because, they said, the fire was propelled via non-native grass species that have grown widely on the island.
The most recent International Panel on Climate Change report found that “colonialism has exacerbated climate change,” per reporting from Mother Jones, with direct correlations between “environmental damage and robbing Indigenous communities of their land.” The modern impacts of colonialism are also evident in the struggle between Native Hawaiians, who have asked tourists not to come, and those who insist on traveling there, overburdening the limited resources.
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