“A little child shall lead them.”– Book of Isaiah 11:6
A Montana state court has ruled in favor of young people who accused the state of violating their right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting the use of fossil fuels.
“This is a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy and for our climate,” said Julia Olsen of Our Children’s Trust in a Washington Post article on Aug. 14.
The case involved 16 young Montanans, from age 5 to 22, who led the nation’s first constitutional and youth-led climate lawsuit to go to trial, according to the Post.
Our Children’s Trust is a non-profit law firm representing the plaintiffs in this case, called Held v. Montana. The firm has cases pending in four other states and has taken legal action for youths in all 50 states.
The Montana youths had a surprising advantage because Montana’s constitution guarantees a right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Over five days of testimony the plaintiffs recounted the harm they’ve suffered from effects of climate change, like smoke from wildfires, and drought that’s caused hardship on the family’s ranch.
Judge Kathy Seeley determined that the state’s emissions could be fairly traced to a 2011 state law blocking Montana from reviewing climate impacts from energy projects.
No reviewing of climate impacts allowed!?
How is that for a head-up-your-ass attitude toward the land that lends us life?
Of course, the state will appeal to Montana’s Supreme Court, but it’s still a stunning victory, however that turns out.
“A weeklong taxpayer-funded publicity stunt that was supposed to be a trial,” said Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for the state’s attorney general, according to the New York Times.
The Times noted that this case is part of a wave of litigation related to climate change targeting governments and companies around the globe. States and cities are suing companies like Shell and Exxon for damages from climate disasters, and claiming the companies have known for decades that their products were responsible for global warming.
This legal approach, hopefully costing them many billions of dollars, could very well be the impetus to turn around the infuriating inertia of both the private and public sectors and get them to make products and policies that will mitigate their colossal climate karma.
“This was climate science on trial, and what the court has found as a matter of fact is that the science is right,” said Michael Burger of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Litigation at Columbia University, in the Times article.
But isn’t Montana just mountain ranges, big sky wide open spaces and cattle grazing? Hardly.
The Times reported that Montana has 5,000 gas wells, 4,000 oil wells, four oil refineries and six coal mines. The defense contended that Montana’s emissions are minuscule but the judge disagreed, saying that Montana equals Argentina in carbon dioxide output.
“The legal community has been fearful that judges won’t understand these cases, and she blew that out of the water,” said Ms. Olsen about Judge Seeley’s decision. “It was digestible, she understood it, and the findings were beautiful.”
Frank Lingo, based in Lawrence, Kansas, is a former columnist for the Kansas City Star and author of the novel “Earth Vote.” Email: lingofrank@gmail.com. See his website: Greenbeat.world
From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2023
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