The Montana Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in a case regarding environmental issues.
According to the EHS Daily Advisor, the court upheld a lower court's ruling that the state constitution provides a "fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment [that] includes climate as part of the environmental life support system."
The judgment comes from a case filed by 16 young people aged between 2 and 18. They sued the state, the governor, and multiple state agencies, alleging that their permitting of dirty energy providers in the oil and natural gas sector was contributing to the warming of our planet.Â
They focused specifically on the Montana Environmental Policy Act, which they believed to be unconstitutional. MEPA stated that any environmental review of new energy deals, such as fracking or oil drilling, could not include actual or potential impacts of that activity that were "regional, national, or global in nature." In other words, companies would not have to acknowledge our heating planet when they discussed the environmental impact of new projects.
The Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that the law was unconstitutional by a 6-1 majority.
"We reject the argument that the delegates (to the Montana 1972 Constitutional Convention) — intending the strongest, all-encompassing environmental protections in the nation, both anticipatory and preventative, for present and future generations — would grant the State a free pass to pollute the Montana environment just because the rest of the world insisted on doing so," the court stated.
"The District Court's conclusion of law is affirmed: Montana's right to a clean and healthful environment and environmental life support system includes a stable climate system, which is clearly within the object and true principles of the Framers inclusion of the right to a clean and healthful environment."
Climate activists celebrated the decision and the impact it could have on similar cases nationwide.
"It's a very strong opinion," said Michael Gerrard of Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, according to the Elko Daily Free Press. "It's one of the strongest opinions ever written on climate change. … This decision will be cited globally in cases in jurisdictions where there are environmental rights in their constitutions."
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
Cool Picks
