Montana’s top court on Wednesday held the state’s constitution guaranteed a right to a stable climate system and invalidated a law barring regulators from considering the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when permitting new fossil fuel projects.
The Montana supreme court upheld a landmark trial court decision last August in favor of 16 young people who said their health and futures were being jeopardized by climate change, which the state aggravates through its permitting of energy projects.
In a case that made headlines across the US and internationally, 16 plaintiffs, aged five to 22, had alleged the state government’s pro-fossil fuel policies contributed to climate change.
In trial hearings in June last year, they testified that these policies therefore violated provisions in the state constitution that guarantee a “clean and healthful environment”, among other constitutional protections. The following month the judge ruled on favor of the plaintiffs.
At the time, the plaintiffs’ lawyers described the first-of-its-kind ruling as a “gamechanger” and a “sweeping win”, which campaigners hope will give a boost to similar cases tackling the climate crisis.
Reuters contributed reporting
