Eugene federal judge Ann Aiken has denied US Department of Justice motions to dismiss a climate lawsuit brought by 21 youth plaintiffs. This could clear the way for the case to finally go to trial.
The lawsuit was filed in 2015 by young people ranging from age 8 to 19 years old. It alleges the federal government, through its policies and subsidies for fossil fuel companies, knowingly allows human-caused climate change. The plaintiffs argue climate change and the dangers it poses violate their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property.
Attorney Julia Olson with Our Children’s Trust represents the plaintiffs.
“We are going to trial this year,” Olson said. “And it’s just time the federal government is held accountable for its affirmative conduct that is causing the climate crisis to worsen.”
Olson said she’s now preparing for pretrial conferences and hopes the trial can begin this fall.
“2024 is going to be the year of children and young people continuing to rise up and secure their rights,” Olson said. “It’s a big year for democracy. And this case and this trial is going to be a big part of that journey.”
Olson said their success with a state climate lawsuit in Montana last year is promising for the federal lawsuit.
In her opinion denying the DOJ’s request to dismiss the case, Aikin said the climate “catastrophe is the great emergency of our time and compels urgent action.”
