2023-08-15 05:00:33
Group of 16 people sued the state of Montana for violating their right to ‘a clean and healthy environment’
Ralph/Pixabay Court decision was unprecedented in the United States
A Montana courthouse (USA) decided, this Monday, 14, in favor of a group of young people who accused the American state of violating their right to “a clean and healthy environment” in a historic climate judgment. Judge Kathy Seeley found unconstitutional a state law that prevents agencies from considering the impacts of greenhouse gases. greenhouse effect by issuing permits for the development of fossil fuels. “The plaintiffs have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment, including the climate,” Kathy stressed in her ruling, which ran to more than 100 pages. “By prohibiting the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions and their corresponding impact on the climate,” the clause in that law “is unconstitutional.” The 16 plaintiffs, aged between 5 and 22, did not claim financial compensation. The trial was held in mid-June in Helena, Montana (north). The plaintiffs described how the climate crisis affects their health, well-being and their families’ finances. This is the first time that the Constitution of a US state has been brought up in court to attack local officials on the climate issue.
This fossil fuel-friendly state’s Constitution says, “The state and each person shall maintain and enhance a clean and healthy environment in Montana for present and future generations.” Montana has just over 1 million people, but it emits as much CO2 as Argentina. The decision could affect future cases, as many similar allegations were made across the country. Julia Olson, director of the NGO Our Children’s Trust, which represented the plaintiffs, called the court ruling “a great victory for Montana, for the youth, for democracy and for our climate.” “Today, for the first time in U.S. history, a court issued a verdict on the merits of a case in which the government violated the constitutional rights of children through laws and actions that promote fossil fuels, ignore climate change, and place young people at disproportionate risk,” it said in a statement.
“Today’s decision in Montana is a game changer that marks a turning point in this generation’s efforts to save the planet from the devastating effects of man-made climate chaos,” he insisted. The state of Montana has announced that it will appeal. A spokeswoman for Montana’s attorney general called the verdict absurd: “You can’t blame Montana for climate change. Even the witnesses called by the plaintiffs agree that our state has no impact on the global climate.” Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which brings together young climate advocates, was elated: “We have shown that Gen Z is a powerful force in the fight against climate change. US Senator Bernie Sanders, 81, called the decision “a great victory” and urged the federal government to “follow their example” and hold the fossil fuel industry to account.
*With information from AFP
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