“The present level of CO2 and its warming, both realized and latent, are already in the zone of danger. Defendants” — which included the US, Barack Obama, and various cabinet secretaries and agencies — “have acted with deliberate indifference to the peril they knowingly created,” the original complaint read. “As a result, Defendants have infringed on Plaintiffs’ fundamental constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property.”
They demanded, more or less, an energy transition: “This Court should order Defendants to cease their permitting, authorizing, and subsidizing of fossil fuels and, instead, move to swiftly phase out CO2 emissions.” The government, under various administrations, has vigorously fought off these youth ever since, and with the Supreme Court’s decision the most prominent youth-led federal climate change case comes to a close — only, it has left quite a legacy.
According to Our Children’s Trust, which represented the plaintiffs in Juliana, the legal framework involved has inspired more than 60 other cases across 50 states and countries. And the wins have started to come in: in 2023 in Held v. Montana a judge ruled that youth plaintiffs did in fact have a right to a clean and healthful environment, as the state’s constitution asserts. A similar suit in Hawai’i was settled last June in favor of the young plaintiffs, with the state agreeing to make a plan to zero out transportation emissions by 2045.
“The Supreme Court’s decision today is not the end of the road and the impact of Juliana cannot be measured by the finality of this case alone,” said Julia Olson, Our Children’s Trust’s chief legal counsel, in a statement. Many other cases are moving through various court systems, all in the ongoing attempt to hold those responsible accountable for what is at best a diminished future. “This fight is far from over,” Olson said. “These claims will be heard, evidence will be presented, and the federal government will be held accountable. The Juliana plaintiffs started this fight for justice, and others will carry it forward.”
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