--- title: "The Kids Who Sued Montana Over Climate Change Just Won" description: "In an unprecedented ruling, a state judge has sided with a group of youth climate activists who sued the state of Montana over fossil fuels." date: "2023-08-14" modified: "2023-08-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/montana-climate-change-case-victory" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "activism" - "climate change" - "climate change lawsuit" - "the digest" --- # The Kids Who Sued Montana Over Climate Change Just Won ![In an unprecedented ruling, a state judge has sided with a group of youth climate activists who sued the state of Montana over fossil fuels.]() *HELENA, MONTANA - JUNE 12: Youth plaintiffs await the start of the nation's first youth climate change trial at Montana's First Judicial District Court on June 12, 2023 in Helena, Montana. Sixteen claimants, ranging in age from 6 to 22, are suing the state for promoting fossil fuel energy policies that they say violate their constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment". (Photo by William Campbell/Getty Images) \Image: William Campbell via Getty Images\* ## W in the Chat In an unprecedented ruling, a state judge has sided with a group of youth climate activists who sued the state of Montana over its promotion of fossil fuels, which the young environmentalists said harms their right to a "clean and healthful environment." The first-of-its-kind ruling in "[Held v. Montana]()" — which found that Montana's fossil fuel boosting violated the state constitutional rights of its 16 plaintiffs, aged five to 22 — could set an important judicial precedent. Over the course of the trial, the sixteen young plaintiffs offered stirring testimony about how harmful climate change has been in their short lives, including the particularly intense tale told by one asthmatic teen who said he was a "[prisoner in \[his\] own home]()" while isolating from both COVID-19 infection and wildfire smoke. "This is a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate," Julia Olson, the founder of Our Children's Trust, [told *The Guardian*](). "More rulings like this will certainly come." ## Big Picture Lawyers for the plaintiffs and their sponsoring organizations argued that a carve-out in the Montana Environmental Policy Act that barred the state from reviewing or analyzing the environmental impact of fossil fuels was unconstitutional. Judge Kathy Seeley, who presided over "Held v. Montana," agreed. The case, as [the *Washington Post* notes](), is both the first youth-led constitutional climate law suit to go to court in the United States. Winning it is a massive victory not just for the young plaintiffs, but for climate activists writ large. "People around the world are watching this case,” Michael Gerrard, the founder of Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told *WaPo*. While the win, which was a long time coming for the case [first filed back in 2020,]() is certainly huge, it's far from the only case of its kind. A look at the press release page for Our Children's Trust, one of the nonprofits that brought "Held v. Montana" to trial, shows that there are several other similar cases awaiting trial, including one [led by youth in Hawai'i](), where wildfires have ravaged the island of Maui and [left nearly 100 people dead](). All the same, the win in "Held v. Montana" is certainly cause for celebration — especially as evidence of [climate change's acceleration]() [keeps happening]() [all around us](). **More on climate change:** [*Ocean Hits Highest Recorded Temperature, Still Rising*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()