Youth climate trial kicks off in Montana

Young activists in Montana are facing off against the state in a trial starting Monday, arguing that its energy policies will exacerbate climate change and therefore deprive them of their rights in the future. 

The case was brought on behalf of 16 young people between the ages of 2 and 18 when the litigation began — now between the ages 5 and 22 — according to the plaintiffs’ website. 

Beyond the state-level issues at play, the litigation also raises broader questions about what, if anything, policymakers owe to young people and future generations as climate change worsens and is expected to bring about floods, wildfires and heatwaves.

The Montana case concerns the state’s environmental review processes giving permits to energy and other infrastructure projects. Specifically, the youth plaintiffs challenge a state law that bars the consideration of climate change impacts in this process. 

Their case invokes the state’s constitution, which gives residents the right to “a clean and healthful environment.”

In a recent court order, Judge Kathy Seeley wrote that the limitation on climate considerations “clearly implicates Plaintiffs’ fundamental right to a clean and healthful environment.”

The state says that what the plaintiffs want isn’t plausible. 

“This case should have never made it to trial, and we look forward to proving that. It would be impossible for the court to grant relief to the plaintiffs that would remedy their alleged injuries,” Emilee Cantrell, spokeswoman for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R), told The Hill in a written statement. 

“The plaintiffs are just looking for another line in their next documentary,” she added.

The case is one of a series around the country in which youth plaintiffs are seeking to litigate their rights to protection from climate change. 

In 2020, a federal court tossed a similar case at the national level, saying that the 21 children who sued the federal government did not have standing to do so. There are still other ongoing youth climate cases in the states of Florida, Utah, Hawaii and Virginia.