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How kids are using the courts to force action on climate crisis
Prof Aoife Daly and PhD Researched Liesl Muller reflect on legal cases taken by young activists are provoking policies that might just do enough to mitigate the climate crisis. This article was published first on .
The earlier this month a petition to revive a case brought by 21 young Americans in the youth-led constitutional climate lawsuit Juliana v. United States. This brings to an end the almost decade-long legal battle of these youth which aimed to force their government to better tackle the climate crisis.
The case was dismissed on a technicality and therefore did not go to a full hearing, so the young people behind the action were never given the opportunity to have their case heard. are impassioned, diverse young people from all over the US. Together with , a nonprofit law firm representing youth who bring climate lawsuits against governments, they have forged huge changes in how children, youth and climate are talked about in the US.
They have inspired other cases which have led to concrete government policy commitments. In a context where CO2 levels are , these youth have achieved things that many people thought impossible.
The Juliana plaintiffs alleged that the "nation’s climate system" was critical to their rights to life, liberty, and property. They made an equal protection claim based on the US government’s denial to them of fundamental rights afforded to prior and present generations, under the US’s , the doctrine which states that certain public goods are held in trust by the state.
The Juliana case argued that one of those public goods includes the atmosphere, which is being harmed by carbon emissions – the US is the of any country in the world. The case from all three of the most recent administrations, from Trump to Biden via Obama.
In spite of the setback, the impact of the case has been immense. The legal arguments made in Juliana v. United States have more than 60 youth-led climate lawsuits around the world in more than 50 countries and states. This is something which we are tracking and analysing at the Youth Climate Justice project.
In many cases, such as Navahine v. Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, significant victories have been secured for climate rights. This ended in 2024 in a comprehensive mutual agreement between the youth and the State of Hawai’i to drastically reduce emissions, and to include children in the ongoing plans to enhance climate justice over the next decade. Navahine plaintiff Mesina D. that her lawsuit’s success could not have been achieved without the blueprint laid by the Juliana youth plaintiffs: "They took on the most powerful government in the world, and their resilience and perseverance showed us that it’s possible to stand up for what’s right and demand justice, even in the face of overwhelming odds."
The numerous youth climate cases coming down the line will likely have greater success in states that have written environmental rights into their constitutions. In another landmark youth led case, Held v Montana, the litigants tackled the limitations in Montana on considering environmental factors when deciding oil and gas permits. The court agreed in 2023 that the limitations violated the right to a safe environment contained in Montana’s constitution.
These cases are significant on two levels. First, children and youth struggle to access justice systems, and these cases show that the environment is an issue which they can and will take on in court (although the dismissal of their case shows ). Many youth have which mean they are powerful advocates for the environment.
There is an assumption that parents unduly pressure children to take these cases, and indeed have to be considered at all times. In Juliana, however, by their children to get involved. Many of these young litigants take these cases because they are being affected by climate change right now – it is not just a future issue for them. Levi D. in Juliana for example is a teenager who had to in Florida, due to the risk of flooding caused by the climate crisis.
The second point of great significance is that these cases show that governments are not doing enough to tackle the climate crisis, and courts can help hold them to account. Courts all over the world are being asked to do so by children and youth. All the way on the other side of the world in South Africa, children are relying on cases like Juliana to fight their own climate battles in court. The youth-led African Climate Alliance case recently stopped government plans to commission more coal powered energy in South Africa, aided amongst other arguments by the reasoning in Held and Juliana.
Youth climate cases which are still ongoing include against six private companies in Japan; an and a young person together taking on climate injustice, and where the youth persevere despite many setbacks, inspired by the Juliana champions.
The Juliana plaintiffs brought their case on their own behalf, but they also represent other children, and adults, and even , who are more at risk from climate change and the that is likely to ensue. The climate crisis . Youth litigants are taking up this responsibility and are continuing the fight to act on their duty to the planet and to each other.
The law has been failing to meet the challenges of the climate crisis, but many children and youth have not. They are , and provoking policies that might just do enough to mitigate the climate crisis.