A group of young people, represented by the nonprofit law firm Our Children's Trust, asked the Supreme Court to revisit their case, which holds the U.S. government accountable for its actions that cause changes to the climate.
The plaintiffs' 2015 landmark lawsuit against the federal government was thrown out, but they are back with an amended complaint, asking for their day in court.
As the New York Times reported, the original case, Juliana v. U.S., asserted that the government violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights by perpetuating dirty energy policies and worsening the effects on our planet's climate despite volumes of research about the risks.
The case was eventually thrown out in 2020 at an appellate court before going to trial. That court advised a lower court to dismiss the plaintiffs' amended complaint.
Twenty-year-old plaintiff Sahara Valentine said, "The Department of Justice has entirely blocked our path to trial. It's really important to us that we get a fair say in court."
The youth group recently filed a writ of mandamus petition with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting it vacate the previous ruling and give their case a fair chance for trial. This story is an excellent example of how anyone, regardless of age, can take local climate action.
The plaintiffs hope their lawsuit will be as successful as others in Hawaii and Montana, where judges ruled that government entities violated people's Constitutional rights by approving dirty energy projects without proper regard for our overheating planet.
The Justice Department's Environmental and Natural Resource Division lawyers have argued in the past that the Supreme Court is not the correct venue to address climate issues due to lack of jurisdiction and no feasible remedy that could be enforced.
Yet, these young adults are not backing down. If successful, this Constitutional climate lawsuit could spark groundbreaking change directly from the country's highest court.
The Our Children's Trust website shares that the plaintiffs have contacted the Biden Administration to request settlement talks. Nearly 350,000 intergenerational adults signed petitions delivered to President Biden and Attorney General Garland requesting relief from the Department of Justice's opposition to their youth-led Constitutional climate lawsuit.
Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org and Third Act, said, "Our ability to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution harming our planet and our children are fundamental freedoms we risk losing."
Upon delivering the petitions to the President and Attorney General, McKibben emphasized that this is an "opportunity for the administration to show their commitment to climate action, to youth, and to the future."
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