Young climate activists ask US Supreme Court to revive their lawsuit against the government

EUGENE, Ore. — Young climate activists in Oregon have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their long-running lawsuit against the federal government in which they argued they have a constitutional right to a climate that sustains life.

Their petition, filed Thursday, asks the high court to reverse a rejection of the lawsuit issued by a federal appeals court panel earlier this year, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. It seeks to have the ruling thrown out and the case sent back to federal court in Oregon so it can go to trial.

The landmark case was filed in 2015 by 21 plaintiffs who were between the ages of 8 and 18 at the time.

The suit was challenged repeatedly by the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, whose lawyers argued it sought to direct federal environmental and energy policies through the courts instead of the political process.

In May, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, acting on a request from the Biden administration, directed U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Oregon, to dismiss the case.

“Our petition to the Supreme Court is essential to correct this overreach by the Ninth Circuit and uphold the rule of law,” Julia Olson, chief legal counsel at Our Children’s Trust, the nonprofit law firm representing the activists, said in a statement. “Upholding these principles of fair process is vital for maintaining trust in our judicial system, regardless of what the Justices may think about the merits of the case.”

Another climate lawsuit brought by young people was successful: Early this year the Montana Supreme Court upheld a landmark decision requiring regulators to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions before issuing permits for fossil fuel development.

That case was also brought by Our Children’s Trust. The law firm has filed climate lawsuits in every state on behalf of young plaintiffs since 2010.