Ninth Circuit Court Rejects Youth Climate Lawsuit, Again
Linnea Lueken
May 20, 2024
A lawsuit filed by a group of 21 youths claiming that U.S. energy policy threatens a constitutional right to a stable climate has been dismissed for lack of standing by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This is the second time the court rejected the lawsuit.
The case, Juliana v. United States, was filed initially in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in 2015 by Our Children’s Trust, an organization purportedly representing a group of children and young people. Our Children’s Trust has filed a number of other similar suits across the country.
The plaintiffs asserted the existence of a constitutional right to “a stable climate system that can sustain human life,” as quoted in the court document, claiming that by allowing the continued production and use of fossil fuels, the federal government is threatening that right.
The 9th Circuit court previously dismissed the case in 2020, stating the judicial system can only handle lawsuits involving harms that can actually be remedied by the courts, and that it is inappropriate for the courts to attempt to influence or mandate nationwide policy changes.
https://heartlanddailynews.com/2024/05/ninth-circuit-court-rejects-youth-climate-lawsuit-again/
