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Released August 18, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Fossil fuel litigation filed by youths across the U.S. could be affected by an August 14 ruling from a Montana district judge, who ruled that a state law prohibiting the assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from current or planned fossil fuel projects was unconstitutional.
The Montana constitution guarantees residents "the right to a clean and healthful environment," Judge Kathy Seeley wrote in her 103-page opinion. She ordered state agencies to "invalidat(e) statutes prohibiting analysis and remedies based on GHG emissions and climate impacts." A provision of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) prohibited the state and its agents from considering the impacts of GHG emissions or climate change in their environmental reviews. Seeley's ruling overturned that section of the MEPA.
Several other state constitutions have similar declarations that residents have a right to a clean environment. Currently, young people have filed similar litigation on GHG emissions in Utah, Hawaii and Virginia, and a federal case filed by young people in scheduled to resume next June in Oregon.
In the Montana case, Rikki Held v State of Montana, Judge Seeley ruled for the plaintiffs, a group of young Montanans who were aged 2 to 18 when the litigation began in March 2020.
The state plans to appeal the ruling.The New York Times quoted Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, Austin Knudsen: "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. Montanans can't be blamed for changing the climate."
The state's defense lasted only one day, which reportedly surprised observers. Rather than dispute the plaintiff's facts, the state argued that the legislature, not the courts, was the proper place to settle this matter.
The ruling was welcomed by those who supported the young Montana plaintiffs. The Times article quoted Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Litigation at Columbia University, predicting the Montana case would reverberate around the country.
"This was climate science on trial, and what the court has found as a matter of fact is that the science is right," Burger said. "Emissions contribute to climate change, climate harms are real, people can experience climate harms individually, and every ton of greenhouse gas emissions matters. These are important factual findings, and other courts in the U.S. and around the world will look to this decision."
In her ruling, Seely said the plaintiff's expert witnesses demonstrated that fossil fuel projects in Montana emitted more carbon dioxide (CO2) than several nations, including Venezuela and Pakistan. Emissions from fossil fuel projects directly affected Montana's environment by increasing its temperatures, melting its glaciers, polluting its air, contributing to droughts, making its lakes more acidic, and contributing to extreme weather and wildfires. Smoke from the wildfires injures Montanans, particularly those with respiratory ailments.
Seeley wrote, "Children are uniquely vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, which harms their physical and psychological health and safety, interferes with family and cultural foundations and integrity, and causes economic deprivations."
The plaintiff's witnesses established as a matter of fact, the judge wrote in her decision, that "there is overwhelming scientific evidence that Earth is warming as a direct result of human GHG emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels." She added: "Science is unequivocal that dangerous impacts to the climate are occurring due to human activities, primarily from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels."
The state has an estimated 5,000 natural gas wells, 4,000 oil wells, four oil refineries, six coal mines and several hydrocarbon processing and transportation facilities. The state is a "major emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, in absolute terms, in per person terms, and historically," Judge Seeley wrote.
The judge's ruling applies to planned fossil fuel projects in Montana as well as projects seeking to extend their permits. It was not immediately clear if fossil-fueled power plants in the state were covered by the ruling. Many of those plants have announced plans to retire prematurely.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The Montana constitution guarantees residents "the right to a clean and healthful environment," Judge Kathy Seeley wrote in her 103-page opinion. She ordered state agencies to "invalidat(e) statutes prohibiting analysis and remedies based on GHG emissions and climate impacts." A provision of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) prohibited the state and its agents from considering the impacts of GHG emissions or climate change in their environmental reviews. Seeley's ruling overturned that section of the MEPA.
Several other state constitutions have similar declarations that residents have a right to a clean environment. Currently, young people have filed similar litigation on GHG emissions in Utah, Hawaii and Virginia, and a federal case filed by young people in scheduled to resume next June in Oregon.
In the Montana case, Rikki Held v State of Montana, Judge Seeley ruled for the plaintiffs, a group of young Montanans who were aged 2 to 18 when the litigation began in March 2020.
The state plans to appeal the ruling.The New York Times quoted Emily Flower, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, Austin Knudsen: "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. Montanans can't be blamed for changing the climate."
The state's defense lasted only one day, which reportedly surprised observers. Rather than dispute the plaintiff's facts, the state argued that the legislature, not the courts, was the proper place to settle this matter.
The ruling was welcomed by those who supported the young Montana plaintiffs. The Times article quoted Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Litigation at Columbia University, predicting the Montana case would reverberate around the country.
"This was climate science on trial, and what the court has found as a matter of fact is that the science is right," Burger said. "Emissions contribute to climate change, climate harms are real, people can experience climate harms individually, and every ton of greenhouse gas emissions matters. These are important factual findings, and other courts in the U.S. and around the world will look to this decision."
In her ruling, Seely said the plaintiff's expert witnesses demonstrated that fossil fuel projects in Montana emitted more carbon dioxide (CO2) than several nations, including Venezuela and Pakistan. Emissions from fossil fuel projects directly affected Montana's environment by increasing its temperatures, melting its glaciers, polluting its air, contributing to droughts, making its lakes more acidic, and contributing to extreme weather and wildfires. Smoke from the wildfires injures Montanans, particularly those with respiratory ailments.
Seeley wrote, "Children are uniquely vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, which harms their physical and psychological health and safety, interferes with family and cultural foundations and integrity, and causes economic deprivations."
The plaintiff's witnesses established as a matter of fact, the judge wrote in her decision, that "there is overwhelming scientific evidence that Earth is warming as a direct result of human GHG emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels." She added: "Science is unequivocal that dangerous impacts to the climate are occurring due to human activities, primarily from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels."
The state has an estimated 5,000 natural gas wells, 4,000 oil wells, four oil refineries, six coal mines and several hydrocarbon processing and transportation facilities. The state is a "major emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, in absolute terms, in per person terms, and historically," Judge Seeley wrote.
The judge's ruling applies to planned fossil fuel projects in Montana as well as projects seeking to extend their permits. It was not immediately clear if fossil-fueled power plants in the state were covered by the ruling. Many of those plants have announced plans to retire prematurely.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
