Hi r/climate, this is Jake from The Guardian. We wanted to share this story that we published yesterday about the young plaintiffs that successfully argued in 2023 that officials violated their constitutional rights by promoting fossil fuels now asking for their case to be enforced.
*From The Guardian*:
The young Montanans who scored a landmark triumph in the lawsuit Held v [Montana](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/montana) are calling on the state’s highest court to enforce that victory.
In a [groundbreaking legal decision in August 2023](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/montana-climate-trial-young-activists-judge-order), a Montana judge ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs who had accused state officials of violating their constitutional rights by promoting fossil fuels. The state’s supreme court affirmed the judge’s findings in late 2024. But state lawmakers have since violated her ruling, enshrining new laws this year that contradict it, argue 13 of the 16 plaintiffs in a petition filed on Wednesday.
“These new policies mean the state is going to just continue to act in a way that will increase greenhouse gasses which during the Held case were shown to be disproportionately harming youth,” said Rikki Held, the 24-year-old lead petitioner who was also the named plaintiff in the earlier lawsuit. “It means we’ll continue down a path we already know and have proven is detrimental.”
The Held decision stated that state laws limiting state agencies’ ability to consider greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts during environmental reviews are unconstitutional. It also said that though the climate crisis is a global issue, Montana bears responsibility to address the harms that are being caused by greenhouse gas emissions within the state.
1 Comment
Hi r/climate, this is Jake from The Guardian. We wanted to share this story that we published yesterday about the young plaintiffs that successfully argued in 2023 that officials violated their constitutional rights by promoting fossil fuels now asking for their case to be enforced.
*From The Guardian*:
The young Montanans who scored a landmark triumph in the lawsuit Held v [Montana](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/montana) are calling on the state’s highest court to enforce that victory.
In a [groundbreaking legal decision in August 2023](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/14/montana-climate-trial-young-activists-judge-order), a Montana judge ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs who had accused state officials of violating their constitutional rights by promoting fossil fuels. The state’s supreme court affirmed the judge’s findings in late 2024. But state lawmakers have since violated her ruling, enshrining new laws this year that contradict it, argue 13 of the 16 plaintiffs in a petition filed on Wednesday.
“These new policies mean the state is going to just continue to act in a way that will increase greenhouse gasses which during the Held case were shown to be disproportionately harming youth,” said Rikki Held, the 24-year-old lead petitioner who was also the named plaintiff in the earlier lawsuit. “It means we’ll continue down a path we already know and have proven is detrimental.”
The Held decision stated that state laws limiting state agencies’ ability to consider greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts during environmental reviews are unconstitutional. It also said that though the climate crisis is a global issue, Montana bears responsibility to address the harms that are being caused by greenhouse gas emissions within the state.
[*You can read the full story for free at this link.*](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/10/montana-climate-youth-activists-petition-law?referring_host=Reddit&utm_campaign=guardianacct)