Hi Revealer,

In early June, we brought you an episode about the battle for clean energy in coal country. Through Montana and its vast coal deposits, the story highlighted the challenges the nation faces in its efforts to transition away from fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil and toward cleaner renewable energy sources like wind and solar. 

In the course of our reporting in conjunction with Montana Free Press, we went to the rotunda of Montana’s Capitol building in Helena, where we met Mica Kantor, a 15-year-old who had come to rally to protect the state’s constitutional rights – particularly the right to a “clean and healthful environment” for present and future generations. 

Mica is also one of 16 young people who sued the state over its fossil fuel energy policy, contending that it is violating their constitutional right to a healthy environment. 

The youth-led climate lawsuit was the first of its kind in U.S. history. On Aug. 14, two months after the trial concluded, a judge ruled in their favor. In a 103-page decision, Montana First Judicial District Court Judge Kathy Seeley set what environmental lawyers described as evidentiary and legal precedents for climate science and required the state of Montana to consider climate impacts in approving fossil fuel projects. 

“What stands out from the ruling is how much time the judge spent digging into climate science and modeling,” said Amanda Eggert, the environmental reporter for Montana Free Press who covered the trial and provided additional reporting and research for Reveal. “It really seems to be laying the foundation for those pieces of the climate puzzle to be given greater credence in future climate-related litigation, both in Montana and nationally.”  

Montana’s attorney general plans to appeal the ruling. But the ruling may already affect other legal cases related to climate change, including a youth-led case against the Hawaii Department of Transportation and Juliana v. United States, a federal lawsuit brought by young Oregon climate activists for the nation’s failure to reduce its role in carbon emissions.   

“I am overjoyed that we won,” Mica told Reveal. “This has been a long and challenging process, and I look forward to the success of other future cases. This is the most hope that I’ve had in a long time that there will be a livable future for all.”