(Photo: Kevin Krajik/Earth Institute)
On Aug. 14, a state judge issued a landmark ruling in favor of young Montana climate activists. Holder v. Montana case. Plaintiffs claim the state violated their right to a clean and healthy environment under the Montana Constitution. District Judge Kathy Seeley declared that a state law violated that right by prohibiting agencies from considering climate impacts in environmental reviews. This is the first constitutional climate trial in the United States on the state’s responsibility for climate change.
Experts at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, affiliated with the Columbia Climate Institute, have been watching the case closely since it was filed.this Case Summary and Key Documents can be viewed in the center Climate Change Litigation Database; Executive Director Michael Berger recently wrote case explanation.This month, the center also released a new report Explore trends and prospects for climate litigation around the world.
Below are some widespread media reports quoting experts from the Sabin Center.The list originally appeared on the Center’s website and will stay updated there.
Michael Gerrard, Sabin Center Faculty Director and Professor of Climate, Columbia Climate Institute
