Montana Court Says State Fossil Fuel Promotion Violated Youths’ Right to a “Clean and Healthful Environment”
After an eight-day bench trial, a Montana state court ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs, ranging from 5 to 22 years old, who filed a lawsuit claiming that Montana’s Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment.”
The youth plaintiffs’ complaint was filed in March 2020 against the state of Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Montana Department of Transportation, and the Montana Public Service Commission.
The youth plaintiffs argued that certain MEPA provisions preventing agencies from considering the climate impact of energy projects, such as Montana’s robust oil and coal industries, when authorizing such activities promoted the use of fossil fuels. They argued this violated Montana’s state constitution, which contains a provision guaranteeing its citizens’ right to a clean and healthful environment. As a result, the youth plaintiffs claimed that they had and would continue to suffer lifelong physical and mental health impacts such as respiratory conditions, heat-related health problems, fear, anxiety and stress, as well as economic and cultural deprivations arising from extreme weather conditions.
In response, the state defendants argued that Montana’s small contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions created an issue of redressability. They questioned whether the state court had any power to provide a remedy for the youth plaintiffs’ climate change-related injuries, which they attributed to a multitude of other sources around the world. In a startlingly brief one-day defense at trial, the defendants also unsuccessfully argued that revisions to the MEPA provisions in question were an issue more appropriately handled by the state legislature than the judiciary.
The court’s order included over 80 pages of factual findings on the sources of anthropogenic climate change, its connection to Montana’s fossil fuels industries, and its present and future impact on the youth plaintiffs. It concluded that allowing Montana’s administrative agencies to consider GHG emissions and climate change during MEPA review of energy projects would redress the plaintiffs’ injuries and alleviate the harmful environmental effects of Montana’s fossil fuel activities by reducing future GHG emissions and increasing the likelihood that projects leading to unreasonable degradation of the state environment would be rejected.
Earlier this year, in an apparent reaction to the youth plaintiffs’ lawsuit, Montana’s state legislature amended the MEPA provisions in question to clarify that state agencies were prohibited from considering GHG emissions and climate impacts when reviewing projects and to eliminate the possibility of preventative, equitable remedies for MEPA litigants raising GHG or climate change issues. The court’s order permanently enjoined these provisions as unconstitutional.
An appeal from the court’s order is expected to be taken to the Montana Supreme Court. Although it is unclear how the Montana Supreme Court will ultimately rule, the state court’s decision is an unprecedented victory for young climate change plaintiffs. According to a recent climate change litigation report, at least 34 climate change actions had been brought by and on behalf of children worldwide by the end of 2022. Although the majority have been unsuccessful to date, the Montana win may provide support for youth plaintiffs in several cases currently pending in the United States.
Please contact Sophie Gray or any member of Phelps’ Environmental team if you have questions or need advice and guidance.
