Youth Climate Crisis Case In the Hands of the Washington Supreme Court

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Photo from Fotolia/Patrick Poendl
We must reduce fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions in order to protect and preserve the Earth's natural ecosystems.

The following article was posted with permission from Our Children’s Trust.

On November 26th, seven young petitioners and their guardians filed their final brief before the Washington Supreme Court asking it to reverse a lower court’s dismissal of their case to protect public trust resources of the state. The appeal was filed after a judge in King County Superior Court dismissed their climate change lawsuit brought against Governor Gregoire, the Director of the Department of Ecology, the Commissioner of Public Lands, and the Director of the Department of Fish & Wildlife. The lawsuit seeks to force Washington to reduce carbon dioxide emissions at levels needed to avert the climate crisis.

The fate of the youths’ lawsuit is now before the Washington Supreme Court. Already, in response to a lawsuit by Texas youth, a court has ruled that the atmosphere is a public trust resource in that state. The Washington case is one of a series of coordinated legal actions across the country to compel government action on climate change. One law firm in Houston has called the unprecedented decision in Texas, “a ‘shot heard ’round the world’ in climate change litigation.”

The youths’ drive for bringing the lawsuit comes from their interest in protecting the environment and the alarming research of our nation’s top scientists. According to leading climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, “the science is crystal clear–we must rapidly reduce fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions if we are to have a chance of protecting Earth’s natural systems for these young people.” Hansen submitted a declaration supporting the youths’ appeal to the Washington Supreme Court in which he states:

“Further delay of meaningful action to address climate change vastly increases the risk of irretrievable damage to the climate system. Delaying action to return the atmospheric CO2 concentration to approximately 350 ppm by the end of the century may doom the prospect of stabilizing the Earth’s climate system and mitigating human suffering.”

  • Published on Jan 22, 2013
Tagged with: climate change
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