A Ruling Made In Precedent Setting Montana Youth Climate Case

In June 2023, I wrote about young Montana activists who were bringing the state to hold Montana accountable for the less than environmentally friendly policies enacted by our 2023 Legislative Session.  Policies that keep coal and fossil fuel in the forefront of Montana's energy production instead of cleaner energy such as wind and solar.

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You can view that article and some of the very unfriendly environmental policies enacted by our Legislature here:

There Was A Ruling Today, 8/14/23

From Associated Press:

District Court Judge Kathy Seeley found the policy the state uses in evaluating requests for fossil fuel permits — which does not allow agencies to evaluate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions — is unconstitutional.

"Montana’s emissions and climate change have been proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment and harm and injury” to the youth.

She then left it up to the legislature to fix the problem, not setting a window in which that should be done.

The Office Of The Attorney General Expressed Disgust At The Ruling

From Associated Press:

Emily Flower, Spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said:

This ruling is absurd, but not surprising from a judge who let the plaintiffs’ attorneys put on a weeklong taxpayer-funded publicity stunt that was supposed to be a trial,” Flower said. “Montanans can’t be blamed for changing the climate — even the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses agreed that our state has no impact on the global climate. Their same legal theory has been thrown out of federal court and courts in more than a dozen states. It should have been here as well, but they found an ideological judge who bent over backward to allow the case to move forward and earn herself a spot in their next documentary.

Looks like this isn't anywhere NEAR over in Montana.  For me, I'm happy it went this way to begin to set a precedent wherever arguments over the climate are happening.

Here are a couple hidden gems you'll only find in Montana.