In 2015, twenty-one children and youths began their suit against the U.S. government for encouraging the production of fossil fuels, which are damaging the climate they will inherit. The suit survived several challenges and yesterday, March 7, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco allowed the children’s climate liability lawsuit to move forward. The suit had been argued and submitted on December 11, 2017. Quoting from the decision:
Twenty-one young plaintiffs brought suit against the United States, the President, and various Executive Branch officials and agencies, alleging that the defendants have contributed to climate change in violation of the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. They allege that the defendants have known for decades that carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels destabilize the climate.
The plaintiffs aver that the defendants have nevertheless enabled and continue to enable, through various government policies, the burning of fossil fuels, allowing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to reach historically unprecedented levels.They allege that climate change is injuring them and will continue to injure them. The plaintiffs claim that, in light of these facts, the defendants have violated their constitutional rights.
The defendants moved to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. The district court denied the motion. The court held that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that they have Article III standing, did not raise non-justiciable political questions, and asserted plausible claims under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment….