In Held v. Montana, Young People Sue Montana Over Use of Fossil Fuels – The New York Times

Source: In Held v. Montana, Young People Sue Montana Over Use of Fossil Fuels – The New York Times

“There have been almost no trials on climate change,” said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. “This is the first that will get into the merits of climate change and what needs to be done, and how the state may have to change its policies.”

…The origins of the case stretch back nearly a decade. In 2011, a nonprofit called Our Children’s Trust petitioned the Montana Supreme Court to rule that the state has a duty to address climate change. The court declined to weigh in, effectively telling the group to start in the lower courts.

…Our Children’s Trust, which is largely funded by foundations, has sued state governments on behalf of youth in all 50 states, and is behind Juliana v. United States, a closely watched climate case that pits young people against the federal government and is pending in district court in Oregon. But Held v. Montana is the first of these cases to head to trial.

…It was in 1972 that the Montana Constitution was amended to include the language guaranteeing citizens “the right to a clean and healthful environment.” That was at a constitutional convention where revisions were made to reduce the influence of the copper and coal industries, big players in Montana politics since the 1880s. The original Constitution, drafted in 1889, was heavily influenced by mining executives, and the resulting laws were highly deferential to industrial interests. “Some historians called it a corporate colony: all the profits were going out of the state and residents weren’t seeing the benefits,” said Michelle Bryan, a law professor at the University of Montana. “The 1972 Constitution was kind of Montana’s declaration of independence from corporate mining.”