“We know climate change is a global issue, but Montana needs to do our part,” said lead plaintiff Ricky Held, 22, testifying. “You can’t just blow it up and do nothing.”
Seeley agreed. “Every tonne of greenhouse gas emissions exacerbates plaintiffs’ injuries and risks perpetuating irreversible harm from climate change,” she wrote. Her 108-page judgment. “Without science-based action to address climate change, plaintiffs’ injuries will become increasingly severe and irreversible.”
The road to trial was rocky, and the state repeatedly tried to dismiss the lawsuit.During the trial, the state tried what some say A “nothing to see here” approach, which brought free-market economists and climate change deniers to the fore, convinced judges that fossil fuel permits and regulations were not really the responsibility of the state. Countries should also, even if they stop emitting carbon dioxide,2 Very little impact at all.
Sealy didn’t buy it.
“Montana’s [greenhouse gas] Emissions and climate change have proven to be significant factors in causing climate impacts on Montana’s environment and harm and injury to plaintiffs’ youth,” she wrote in her ruling. The judge also noted that the state did not provide a compelling argument why it failed to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions in making its permitting decisions. He also said renewable power is “technically feasible and economically beneficial.”
State Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s spokeswoman Emily Flower condemned the ruling, saying:absurd” and called the trial “”tax-funded propagandaThe firm said it planned to appeal.
“Montanans can’t be blamed for climate change,” says Flower. According to Associated Press. “Their same legal theory has been rejected by federal courts and courts in a dozen states. I found an ideological judge.”
Attorneys who attended the trial say the ruling is notable because it puts the blame squarely on state officials for inaction and shows that government officials have the power to change their attitudes. said.
Seeley “recognized that the only obstacle to Montana’s transition to a clean energy economy was political,” said Melissa Hornbein, an attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. “They are not technical.”
Hornbein hopes the ruling will shape similar lawsuits that focus on government responsibility for dealing with climate change. Our Children’s Trust is also representing 14 young Hawaiian plaintiffs in similar cases. Nawahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation,now going forward next year.
