Judges Grill Both Sides in Youth Climate Case Against the Government

"Three federal judges heard arguments Tuesday about whether young people have a constitutional right to be protected from climate change. In the lively, hourlong hearing, the judges, from the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, pushed skeptically on the arguments of both sides.

The closely watched lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, was scheduled to begin last October, but the court granted the Trump administration an unusual pretrial appeal. Their decision could have important implications for this and other attempts to use the courts to pursue climate action across the United States.

A brief filed by the plaintiffs in the case demands that the government step up to protect today’s children, and future generations, from the worst effects of climate change. It says they risk being deprived of their “rights to life, liberty, property, and public trust resources by federal government acts that knowingly destroy, endanger, and impair the unalienable climate system that nature endows.”"

John Schwartz reports for the New York Times June 4, 2019.

SEE ALSO:

"Government Argues For Halt To Youth Climate Lawsuit, Saying There Is No Constitutional Right To A Stable Climate" (Washington Post)

"Question of the Century: Do We Have a Right to a Livable Climate?" (Revelator)

"Climate Change Lawsuit vs. Federal Government Faces Latest Court Test" (AP)

Source: NY Times, 06/05/2019