A lawyer for 16 young people on Tuesday asked a Montana judge for a historic order declaring the state’s pro-fossil fuel policies violate their rights, wrapping up arguments in the first youth-led U.S. climate change lawsuit to make it to trial.
The youth plaintiffs claim the state's ongoing permitting of things like coal and gas exacerbates the climate crisis, despite the state having an affirmative duty under a 1972 amendment to the Montana constitution to protect and improve the environment.
The trial included testimony from the youth plaintiffs who claimed the state’s policies are contributing to extreme heat and drought, shrinking the state’s famed glaciers and worsening wildfires. During the state’s defense, government officials said that agencies like the Montana Department of Environmental Quality don't have the authority to deny lawful permits, and said that a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs likely wouldn’t change that.
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