US: Court rules in favour of Montana youth in landmark climate trial

A judge in Montana, United States,who heard the country’s first constitutional climate trial earlier this year, hasruled in favour of the more than a dozen young plaintiffs, on Monday (August 14). This comes after 16 young people filed a lawsuit that sought to hold the officials in the state accountable for their inaction on climate change, in the US state.

About the court order

In the order, District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled that Montana’s continued development of fossil fuels violates a clause in the state constitution that guarantees its citizens the right to a “clean and healthful environment.”

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“Plaintiffs have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate as part of the environmental life-support system,” said Seeleyin more than a 100-page ruling after the case closed on June 20.

Notably, Montana is one of several states that have explicit environmental guarantees in their state constitution.

While the verdict will not stop the state from burning fossil fuels, it will reverse a recently passed state law that prevented government agencies from considering the impacts of greenhouse gases when issuing permits for development projects involving fossil fuels.

What wasthe case about?

The case, Held v. Montana, has been closely watched as similar litigations have been filed across the country. The lawsuit centres around the state’s constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment,” and was filed by plaintiffs whose ages range from five to 22.

Roger Sullivan, an attorney for the young plaintiffs, from the non-profit Our Children’s Trust, had alleged that Montana’s ongoing permitting of polluting fuels like coal and gas is contributing to a global crisis, including, “heat, drought, wildfires, air pollution, violent storms, loss of wildlife, watching glaciers melt.”

He also argued that because of these effects, the young people he represents are disproportionately suffering psychologically and healthily. While some plaintiffs testified, the trial also witnessed the rare instance in which climate experts were questioned on the witness stand.

Lawyers are ‘over the moon’

“My initial reaction is, we’re pretty over the moon,” said Melissa Hornbein, an attorney who represented the plaintiffs in the 2020 lawsuit, according to The Guardian. She added, “It’s a very good order.”

In a statement, the attorneys for the plaintiffs called the court’s decision a “sweeping win”.

Julia Olson, chief legal counsel and executive director of Our Children’s Trust said, “Today, for the first time in US history, a court ruled on the merits of a case that the government violated the constitutional rights of children through laws and actions that promote fossil fuels, ignore climate change, and disproportionately imperil young people.”

It added, “This is a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate. More rulings like this will certainly come.” Notably, the non-profit has brought similar youth-led constitutional climate lawsuits in four other states, including Hawaii, which is set to go to trial in June 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)

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