Montana judge sides with climate activists in first-of-its-kind ruling

Young climate activists in Montana received what experts called a first-of-its-kind legal victory on Monday, Aug. 14. District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled Montana state agencies were violating young people’s right to a clean environment by allowing fossil fuel development.

“The clearest thing or at least this initial first step, right, is that as of today, as of this order, it’s unconstitutional for the state of Montana to continue permitting fossil fuel business as usual, they must consider — the constitutional rights of young people,” Mathew dos Santos, the general counsel and managing attorney at Our Children’s Trust, said Monday. “So now what does that mean in practice? I think that the defendants have to now consider climate change and greenhouse gas emissions when deciding whether to permit any more fossil fuel activities and they’d have to deny permits if necessary to protect a plaintiff’s constitutional rights.”

Montana is a major producer of coal burned for electricity and has large oil and gas reserves. Sixteen climate activists suing Montana, ranging in age from 5 to 22, argued rising carbon dioxide emissions were harming their mental and physical health.

The plaintiffs cited wildfire smoke choking the air they breathe, as well as drought drying out rivers that sustain agriculture, fish, wildlife and recreation. Native Americans testifying for the plaintiffs said climate change affects their ceremonies and traditional food sources.

Montana argued its emissions were insignificant, and even if it completely stopped producing CO2, it would have no effect on a global scale because states and countries around the world contribute to the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

A spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen decried the ruling as “absurd,” calling it a “taxpayer-funded publicity stunt.”

“Montanans can’t be blamed for changing the climate,” Emily Flower said. “Their same legal theory has been thrown out of federal court and courts in more than a dozen states. It should have been here as well.”

According to Harvard Law School professor Richard Lazarus, this is the first time a U.S. court has ruled against a government for violating a constitutional right based on climate change. However, since it is up to the Montana Legislature to determine how to bring the state’s policies into compliance, it’s unlikely there will be significant changes to energy production.