The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
June 13, 2023

Montana Court Hears Landmark Youth Climate Lawsuit
--------------------------------------------------

In Montana, a landmark climate trial led by 16 children and young adults
began Monday in the capital Helena. The lawsuit, which is the first of
its kind to go to trial in the U.S., was filed in 2020 by plaintiffs
between the ages of 5 and 22. They accuse the state of Montana of
violating their constitutional rights as it pushed pro-fossil fuel
policies that devastated the environment and severely impacted their
health. This is Julia Olson, executive director of Our Children's Trust,
the nonprofit law firm representing the young plaintiffs.

Julia Olson: "Children need lawyers, and they need advocates, because
our system of law does not prioritize the needs of the youngest among
us. And when it comes to climate crisis, human laws are not paying
attention to the laws of nature and what scientists say is necessary to
protect our children and all future generations."

Earlier this month, a judge cleared the way for a children's climate
case against the United States government to begin in a federal court in
Oregon, after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts blocked the
lawsuit in 2018.


.