Montana Judge Backs Climate Youth in ‘Sweeping Constitutional Win’
[ https://www.theenergymix.com/2023/08/14 ... -451866381 ]
August 14, 2023
A Montana judge on Monday sided with young environmental activists who said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate.
The ruling following a first-of-its-kind trial in the U.S. adds to a small but growing number of legal decisions around the world that have established a government duty to protect citizens from climate change, The Associated Press reports.
Our Children’s Trust, the Oregon-based legal non-profit that represented the youth, headlined the decision [pdf] as a “sweeping constitutional win”.
District Court Judge Kathy Seeley found the policy the state uses in evaluating requests for fossil fuel permits—which does not allow agencies to evaluate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions—is unconstitutional.
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