Using Litigation and the Constitution toAddress the Climate Crisis
Juliana, et al. v. United States of America, et al.
Philip L. Gregory
Co-Lead Counsel
Our Children's TrustHeld, et al. v. State of Montana, et al.

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Juliana v. United States2

21 Youth brought this case in August 2015 against theObama Administration because Defendants’ affirmative acts
violate Plaintiffs’ Constitutional Due Process Rights• Affirmative, ongoing conduct, persisting over decades• In creating, controlling, and perpetuating a national fossil fuelbased energy system• Despite long-standing knowledge of the resulting destruction toour Nation and profound harm to these young Plaintiffs

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Examples of U.S. Litigation with Broad Structural andSystemic Judicial Remedies
Civil Rights: School Desegregation(Brown v. Bd. of Ed., 1955– Present)
Pacific Northwest
Treaty Rights Litigation(1969 – Present)
Public Housing Desegregation(Gautreaux v. Hill – 1976)

The California Prison Litigation(Brown v. Plata, 1990 – Present)
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REMEDIES IN JULIANA
The claims are not that the government must eliminatechanges in the climate, but that it must refrain from actions
that exacerbate the climate crisis to the point of causing
actual injuries to Plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs do not ask courts to write the policies. They ask
courts establish the boundaries of the constitutional right andensure the government takes science-based actions that staywithin those boundaries.
6U.S. District Court Judge Aiken, Nov. 10, 2016,
denying Motions to Dismiss“I have no doubt that the right to a climate systemcapable of sustaining human life is fundamental to afree and ordered society . . . . ”
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U.S. District Court Judge Aiken, Nov. 10, 2016,
denying Motions to Dismiss“Where a complaint alleges governmental action isaffirmatively and substantially damaging the climate
system in a way that will cause human deaths, shorten
human lifespans, result in widespread damage toproperty, threaten human food sources, and dramaticallyalter the planet’s ecosystem, it states a claim for a due
process violation.”
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The Position of the Ninth Circuit Panel
Issued on January 17, 2020, the decision set forth several
important legal rulings before concluding the court lacked
jurisdiction to hear the case.
“A substantial evidentiary record documents that the federal
government has long promoted fossil fuel use despite knowingthat it can cause catastrophic climate change, and that failure tochange existing policy may hasten an environmental apocalypse.”
9The Ninth Circuit Majority Opinion“[I]t is beyond the power of an Article III court to order . . . theplaintiffs’ requested remedial plan.”

The Ninth Circuit Dissent“Such relief, much like the desegregation orders and statewide
prison injunctions the Supreme Court has sanctioned, would
vindicate plaintiffs’ constitutional rights without exceeding theJudiciary’s province.”
10Seeking a Prompt Trial Date
In May 2023, Judge Aiken allowed the youth Plaintiffs to amend
their complaint to seek a declaratory judgment as to theirconstitutional rights and whether the federal government isviolating those rights.
Juliana remains a real controversy about harm to the health andsafety of children. We await a decision by Judge Aiken on ourmotion for a prompt trial date.

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Watch YOUTH V GOV trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPC9QFwI7XYLanderBadge
Kian

TaleahSarielJeffrey

GraceOliviaNate

Mica
Rikki

GeorgiClaireRuby

LilianEva

Constitutional Preamble
We the people of Montana
grateful to God for the quiet
beauty of our state, the grandeurof our mountains, the vastness ofour rolling plains, and desiring toimprove the quality of life,
equality of opportunity and tosecure the blessings of liberty forthis and future generations do
ordain and establish thisconstitution.

Held v. Montana
Mae Nan Ellingson
https://archive.org/details/proposed1972cons00montrich/page/4/mode/2up
MNE-12

Article II: Declaration of Rights

Section 3: Inalienable Rights
All persons are born free and havecertain inalienable rights. They include
the right to a clean and healthfulenvironment and the rights of
pursuing life’s basic necessities,
enjoying and defending their lives andliberties, acquiring, possessing andprotecting property, and seeking theirsafety, health and happiness in all
lawful ways. In enjoying these rights,
all persons recognize theirHeld v. Montana
corresponding responsibilities.
Mae Nan Ellingson
https://archive.org/details/proposed1972cons00montrich/page/6/mode/2up
MNE-16

Actions by the 2023 Montana Legislature
House Bill 971 – Clarification of the Climate Change Limitation(2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(b), an
environmental review conducted pursuant tosubsection (1) may not include an evaluation ofgreenhouse gas emissions AND corresponding impacts
to the climate in the state or beyond the state'sborders.
- HB 971 amendments to subsection (2)(a)P-0000011
Held v. Montana
Heldv. Montana
Cathy
Whitlock
AnneHedges
2007 Climate ChangeActionPlan

Keeling Curve

422350316

Held v. Montana
Steven RunningToday = 422 PPM CO2

Held v. Montana

Stable Climate = 350 PPM CO2
Held v. Montana

Grinnell GlacierRepeat Photography

Held v. Montana
Dan Fagre

Coal Mines and Power Plants

Held v. Montana
Anne Hedges
Ex. P9, P-0001404
AH-7

Coal Deposits and Mines

Colstrip Power Plant

Held v. Montana
Anne Hedges

CO2 From Fossil Fuels Extracted in Montana, 1960-2019

Held v. Montana
Peter Erickson

CO2 From Fossil Fuels Extracted in Montana, 1960-2019

Total
Cumulative
Emissions:

3.7 billion
metric tons
CO2

Held v. Montana
Peter Erickson
ER at 7, Fig. 2PE-26

CO2 From Fossil Fuels Extracted in Montana, 1960-2019
1972
New MontanaConstitution
Ratified

Total
Cumulative
Emissions:

3.7 billion
metric tons
CO2Held v. Montana
Peter Erickson
ER at 7, Fig. 2PE-27

CO2 From Fossil Fuels Consumed in Montana, 1960-2019

Held v. Montana
Peter Erickson

Categories of Fossil Fuel Activities in Montana
Gasoline and diesel invehicles

Fossil fuelsconsumed inMontana
Natural gas inbuildings and at
power plants

Coal atColstrip
power plant

Oil exports outof-state

Fossil fuels
extracted inMontana
Coal exports
out-of-state

Norther Border natural gas pipeline from Express crude oil pipeline fromCanada to North Dakota
Canada to Wyoming

Fossil fuelstransported through or
refined in Montana
Held v. Montana
Peter Erickson
ER at 5, Fig. 1PE-11

Categories of Fossil Fuel Activities in Montana

32M

70M

Fossil fuelsconsumed inMontana

Fossil fuels
extracted inMontana

Tons CO2Tons CO2

80M+

Total Emissions:

166
MillionTons CO2Tons CO2

Fossil fuelstransported through or
refined in Montana
Held v. Montana
Peter Erickson
PE-17

Montana Fossil Fuel Production and Reserves
6 Coal Mines
Annual Production:

34 M Short Tons

4,000 Oil Wells
Annual Production:

5,000 Gas Wells
Annual Production:

23 M Barrels

43 B Cubic Feet

Reserves (as of 2019)
Reserves (as of 2019)707 M Short Tons

613 B Cubic Feet

Reserves (as of 2019)298 M Barrels
Exported:

Exported:?

“SIGNIFICANT PORTION”

95%

Exported:

74%

Area is proportional to BTUs embodied by production / reserve quantity

Held v. Montana
Peter Erickson
PE-37

Support Youthand their Climate Rights

www.ourchildrenstrust.org#youthvgov
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