Young climate activists in Oregon have taken their long-running lawsuit against the federal government to the U.S. Supreme Court. They argue that they have a constitutional right to a climate that can sustain life. The case, initiated in 2015 by 21 plaintiffs aged between 8 and 18 at the time, has faced opposition from the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. The governments’ lawyers contended that the lawsuit aimed to dictate federal environmental and energy policies through the judiciary rather than the political process.
A federal appeals court panel rejected the lawsuit earlier this year, prompting the activists to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition, submitted on Thursday, requests the high court to overturn the previous ruling and to send the case back to federal court in Oregon for a trial. The activists, represented by the nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust, are seeking to challenge the dismissal of the case by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Julia Olson, chief legal counsel at Our Children’s Trust, emphasized the importance of upholding fair process and the rule of law in the judicial system, regardless of the Justices’ opinions on the case’s merits. Another climate lawsuit brought by young individuals represented by the same law firm achieved success earlier this year. The Montana Supreme Court upheld a groundbreaking decision that mandates regulators to consider greenhouse gas emissions’ impacts before granting permits for fossil fuel development.
Our Children’s Trust has been at the forefront of filing climate lawsuits in every state since 2010 on behalf of young plaintiffs. The activism and legal challenges undertaken by these young climate activists underscore their determination to hold governments accountable for protecting the environment and future generations’ right to a habitable planet.
