SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A flare burns in the Bakken oil field near Bainville, Montana on September 12, 2013. (Photo: Ken Cedeno/Corbis via Getty Images)
Montana Plaintiffs Announce First Children's Climate Trial in US History
One of the plaintiffs said going to trial "means our voices are actually being heard by the courts, the government, the people who serve to protect us as citizens, and Montana's youth."
Feb 07, 2022
Young Montanans and their lawyers announced Monday that the first children's climate trial in U.S. history is set to begin a year from now in Helena, Montana.
"Knowing that we have the dates for the first youth constitutional climate case ever, I feel hopeful that finally our government may begin to serve our best interest."
The historic trial in the constitutional climate lawsuit Held v. State of Montana is scheduled for February 6 through February 17, 2023 at the First Judicial District Court.
"Going to trial means a chance for me and my fellow plaintiffs to have our climate injuries recognized and a solution realized," said Grace, one of the 16 plaintiffs, in a statement.
"It means our voices are actually being heard by the courts, the government, the people who serve to protect us as citizens, and Montana's youth," she added. "Knowing that we have the dates for the first youth constitutional climate case ever, I feel hopeful that finally our government may begin to serve our best interest."
The plaintiffs in the case--first filed on March 13, 2020--are represented by Nate Bellinger of Our Children's Trust, Melissa Hornbein of the Western Environmental Law Center, and Roger Sullivan and Dustin Leftridge of McGarvey Law.
As a fact sheet from Our Children's Trust outlines, the youth plaintiffs are not seeking money from the government; they are "asking the court to declare Montana's state energy policy unconstitutionally promotes the development and utilization of fossil fuels."
The young Montanans are also "challenging the constitutionality of a provision in the Montana Environmental Policy Act that prohibits the state from considering the impacts of climate change when making certain decisions about which projects to permit."
As Hornbein explained Monday, "Montana is one of only a handful of states that recognizes a fundamental right to a clean and healthful environment, and that includes the climate."
"Montana has a long history of promoting fossil fuels and exacerbating the climate crisis, and we are hopeful our case could turn over a new leaf for the state and its youth," she continued. "We're not only talking about 'future generations.' The people who we need to take action to protect from the climate crisis are already here in our schools, daycares, and cribs."
Bellinger called the trial "an unprecedented opportunity" to lay out in court how the state's fossil fuel promotion contributes to the climate emergency, "resulting in grave injuries to these 16 youth plaintiffs."
"Through this trial," he said, "we will have an opportunity to prove that the state of Montana's actions promoting a fossil fuel-based energy system are violating the fundamental constitutional rights of the plaintiffs."
Bellinger's organization is known for various U.S. climate cases involving young people, including Juliana v. United States and Sagoonick v. State of Alaska. In the latter, the Alaska Supreme Court last month denied Alaskan youths' right to bring a constitutional case challenging the state's fossil fuels policy--but plaintiffs and their attorneys have vowed to keep fighting.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Young Montanans and their lawyers announced Monday that the first children's climate trial in U.S. history is set to begin a year from now in Helena, Montana.
"Knowing that we have the dates for the first youth constitutional climate case ever, I feel hopeful that finally our government may begin to serve our best interest."
The historic trial in the constitutional climate lawsuit Held v. State of Montana is scheduled for February 6 through February 17, 2023 at the First Judicial District Court.
"Going to trial means a chance for me and my fellow plaintiffs to have our climate injuries recognized and a solution realized," said Grace, one of the 16 plaintiffs, in a statement.
"It means our voices are actually being heard by the courts, the government, the people who serve to protect us as citizens, and Montana's youth," she added. "Knowing that we have the dates for the first youth constitutional climate case ever, I feel hopeful that finally our government may begin to serve our best interest."
The plaintiffs in the case--first filed on March 13, 2020--are represented by Nate Bellinger of Our Children's Trust, Melissa Hornbein of the Western Environmental Law Center, and Roger Sullivan and Dustin Leftridge of McGarvey Law.
As a fact sheet from Our Children's Trust outlines, the youth plaintiffs are not seeking money from the government; they are "asking the court to declare Montana's state energy policy unconstitutionally promotes the development and utilization of fossil fuels."
The young Montanans are also "challenging the constitutionality of a provision in the Montana Environmental Policy Act that prohibits the state from considering the impacts of climate change when making certain decisions about which projects to permit."
As Hornbein explained Monday, "Montana is one of only a handful of states that recognizes a fundamental right to a clean and healthful environment, and that includes the climate."
"Montana has a long history of promoting fossil fuels and exacerbating the climate crisis, and we are hopeful our case could turn over a new leaf for the state and its youth," she continued. "We're not only talking about 'future generations.' The people who we need to take action to protect from the climate crisis are already here in our schools, daycares, and cribs."
Bellinger called the trial "an unprecedented opportunity" to lay out in court how the state's fossil fuel promotion contributes to the climate emergency, "resulting in grave injuries to these 16 youth plaintiffs."
"Through this trial," he said, "we will have an opportunity to prove that the state of Montana's actions promoting a fossil fuel-based energy system are violating the fundamental constitutional rights of the plaintiffs."
Bellinger's organization is known for various U.S. climate cases involving young people, including Juliana v. United States and Sagoonick v. State of Alaska. In the latter, the Alaska Supreme Court last month denied Alaskan youths' right to bring a constitutional case challenging the state's fossil fuels policy--but plaintiffs and their attorneys have vowed to keep fighting.
From Your Site Articles
Young Montanans and their lawyers announced Monday that the first children's climate trial in U.S. history is set to begin a year from now in Helena, Montana.
"Knowing that we have the dates for the first youth constitutional climate case ever, I feel hopeful that finally our government may begin to serve our best interest."
The historic trial in the constitutional climate lawsuit Held v. State of Montana is scheduled for February 6 through February 17, 2023 at the First Judicial District Court.
"Going to trial means a chance for me and my fellow plaintiffs to have our climate injuries recognized and a solution realized," said Grace, one of the 16 plaintiffs, in a statement.
"It means our voices are actually being heard by the courts, the government, the people who serve to protect us as citizens, and Montana's youth," she added. "Knowing that we have the dates for the first youth constitutional climate case ever, I feel hopeful that finally our government may begin to serve our best interest."
The plaintiffs in the case--first filed on March 13, 2020--are represented by Nate Bellinger of Our Children's Trust, Melissa Hornbein of the Western Environmental Law Center, and Roger Sullivan and Dustin Leftridge of McGarvey Law.
As a fact sheet from Our Children's Trust outlines, the youth plaintiffs are not seeking money from the government; they are "asking the court to declare Montana's state energy policy unconstitutionally promotes the development and utilization of fossil fuels."
The young Montanans are also "challenging the constitutionality of a provision in the Montana Environmental Policy Act that prohibits the state from considering the impacts of climate change when making certain decisions about which projects to permit."
As Hornbein explained Monday, "Montana is one of only a handful of states that recognizes a fundamental right to a clean and healthful environment, and that includes the climate."
"Montana has a long history of promoting fossil fuels and exacerbating the climate crisis, and we are hopeful our case could turn over a new leaf for the state and its youth," she continued. "We're not only talking about 'future generations.' The people who we need to take action to protect from the climate crisis are already here in our schools, daycares, and cribs."
Bellinger called the trial "an unprecedented opportunity" to lay out in court how the state's fossil fuel promotion contributes to the climate emergency, "resulting in grave injuries to these 16 youth plaintiffs."
"Through this trial," he said, "we will have an opportunity to prove that the state of Montana's actions promoting a fossil fuel-based energy system are violating the fundamental constitutional rights of the plaintiffs."
Bellinger's organization is known for various U.S. climate cases involving young people, including Juliana v. United States and Sagoonick v. State of Alaska. In the latter, the Alaska Supreme Court last month denied Alaskan youths' right to bring a constitutional case challenging the state's fossil fuels policy--but plaintiffs and their attorneys have vowed to keep fighting.
From Your Site Articles
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.