Young Green Activists Win Climate Change Trial In Montana

Young environmental activists scored what experts described as a ground-breaking legal victory Monday when a Montana judge said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by allowing fossil fuel development, Amy Beth Hanson and Matthew Brown reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Montana is a major producer of coal burned for electricity and has large oil and gas reserves.

The ruling in this first-of-its-kind trial in the US adds to a small number of legal decisions around the world that have established a government duty to protect citizens from climate change.

If it stands, the ruling could set an important legal precedent, though experts said the immediate impacts are limited and state officials pledged to seek to overturn the decision on appeal.

District Court Judge Kathy Seeley found the policy the state uses in evaluating requests for fossil fuel permits — which does not allow agencies to look at greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — is unconstitutional.

The judge rejected the state’s argument that Montana’s emissions are insignificant, saying they were “a substantial factor” in climate change. Montana is a major producer of coal burned for electricity and has large oil and gas reserves.

“Every additional ton of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions exacerbates plaintiffs’ injuries and risks locking in irreversible climate injuries,” Seeley wrote.

However, it’s up to the Montana Legislature to determine how to bring the state’s policies into compliance. That leaves slim chances for prompt changes in a fossil fuel-friendly state where Republicans dominate the statehouse.

Only a few states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, have constitutions with similar environmental protections.

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