​​Group of Montana Youth Suing for a ‘Right’ to a Stable Climate

A view across a lake toward a mountain in Glacier National Park, Montana, circa 1960. Harvey Meston/Getty Images

Commentary

Sixteen young people ranging in age from 5 to 22 are plaintiffs in a legal suit against the government of their state, Montana. The suit maintains that the state’s continued fossil fuel-friendly policies (sometimes characterized as “support of” or “allegiance to” fossil fuel industries) are contributing to harmful climate changes, thereby violating the state’s constitutional promise to “maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.”