Dear John,
For ten years, we’ve stood beside the 21 courageous youth in Juliana v. United States through every courtroom win, every appeal, and every heartbreak.
They were just kids when they first sued the federal government for knowingly fueling the climate crisis for fifty years and violating their constitutional rights. Many were barely tall enough to reach the witness stand, yet despite years of litigation, they never got the chance to take it.
They believed—and still believe—that the law must protect their right to live, to breathe, to grow up in a safe and healthy climate.
And for ten years, their government has done everything in its power to stop them.
No trial. No testimony. No justice.
Fifteen of these youth—now young adults—have taken their pursuit of justice to the international stage. With our support, they’ve filed a petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, demanding accountability from the U.S. government for decades of deliberate harm.
The petition says that longstanding U.S. energy policies and actions have caused dangerous pollution that threatens the petitioners’ basic human rights. These rights are protected by international law that the U.S. is obligated to uphold. The petition also asserts that the U.S. government’s repeated efforts to stop the Juliana case from going to trial denied these young people their right to a fair chance to be heard in court, to justice, and to a remedy for their wrongs.
The petitioners ask the Commission to:
Declare the case admissible
Commit to a site visit to meet with the youth petitioners and hear about the harms they have endured
Find that the government has violated the youth petitioners' basic rights—like the rights to life, health, equality, and justice.
Recommend strong climate action in line with recent international court decisions
The petition calls for recommendations aligned with recent Advisory Opinions from two of the highest courts in the world — the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice.
At just 8 years old, Levi stood up to the most powerful government in the world. Now 18, he has carried the weight of that courage for over a decade, still waiting for the chance to share his story in court. Though that moment never came, his truth remains loud and clear:
