State to hear first-of-its-kind lawsuit claiming kids have a 'right' to a 'stable climate'

 

A Montana state court is poised to hear a lawsuit against the state brought by children and teens who claim they have a right to a “stable climate.”

The “Youth Plaintiffs,” ranging in age from two to 18, allege they are “disproportionately harmed by the climate crisis” and will “face lifelong hardships” unless the government steps in to mitigate the supposed threats by developing a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the March 2020 complaint. Since Montana’s constitution grants them a right to a “clean and healthful environment,” they argue the courts must bring the state’s energy system “into constitutional compliance.”

“The release of anthropogenic GHGs into the atmosphere is already triggering a host of adverse consequences in Montana, including dangerously increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, increasing droughts and extreme weather events, increasing the frequency and severity of wildfires, increasing glacial melt, and causing numerous adverse health risks, especially to children,” the lawsuit states...more