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Dear John,

In a time when government actions are causing profound harm to communities across the country and world, the courage of young people standing up for justice has never been more vital. As the holiday season ramped up, youth across the country were taking bold action to defend their constitutional rights to life, health, and safety. In the last two months, 41 courageous young people have launched three new cases across the United States, each holding state governments accountable for their health, safety, and future.

In Utah, Natalie Roberts and nine youth are returning to court after a partial Supreme Court win, challenging fossil fuel permits that are making the air unsafe and threatening their health. In Montana, Rikki Held and fifteen youth petitioners filed Held v. State of Montana II, seeking to enforce their landmark victory and ensure the state follows its constitutional obligations. In Pennsylvania, Ashley Funk, on behalf of her daughter, alongside fourteen other youth appellants, is challenging a massive gas-fired power plant that would release millions of tons of greenhouse gases each year.

These young people are not asking for money. They are demanding protection, accountability, and a future where their rights and health come first.

This month, we’re highlighting these plaintiffs’ stories and their courageous choice to relentlessly pursue the protection of their constitutional rights.

Natalie Roberts and nine other youth are taking the next step to protect their rights to life, health, and safety. Roberts v. Board of Oil, Gas, & Mining ([link removed]) responds directly to the Utah Supreme Court’s March 2025 decision in Natalie R. v. State of Utah, where the Court recognized the scale of fossil fuel extraction in the state and the harms it causes young people. It also clarified that to receive meaningful relief, youth must target specific government actions rather than broad energy policy.

Following that guidance, Natalie and her fellow plaintiffs filed their case challenging coal, oil, and gas permits issued since the Supreme Court decision. These permits add unnecessary pollution, harm the plaintiffs’ health, and ignore safer alternatives like wind and solar energy.

Read Natalie’s full story and see how she and her fellow youth are standing up for clean air and a safe future.
READ MORE ([link removed])

In Held v. State of Montana II, ([link removed]) Rikki Held and fifteen young Montanans are returning to court to enforce their landmark victory and ensure the state complies with its affirmative constitutional obligations. Held established, with uncontested factual findings, that these young Montanans are being harmed by climate change and fossil fuel pollution today, and that every additional ton of greenhouse gas pollution makes their injuries worse.

But instead of complying with the Supreme Court’s 2024 order, the 2025 Legislature passed new laws that directly contradict the Held ruling, put blinders back on state agencies, ensure their ongoing approval of fossil fuel permits, and prevent state agencies from taking the necessary steps to reduce Montana’s GHG emissions. Rikki and the youth are asking the court to strike down these laws, restore protections, and ensure the state fulfills its constitutional duties.

Read more about Rikki’s journey and how Montana youth are defending their constitutional rights.
READ MORE ([link removed])

Ashley Funk, a seventh-generation Pennsylvanian, has spent much of her life in court. She has appeared not as a defendant, but as a defender of constitutional rights. As a young person, she served as the lead plaintiff in constitutional rights lawsuits represented by Our Children’s Trust. Now, Ashley is returning to court on behalf of her daughter, alongside fourteen other appellants in McIntosh v. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ([link removed]) .

The young Pennsylvanians are challenging a massive gas-fired power plant on the site of the former Homer City coal plant. This project would release millions of tons of greenhouse gases each year, worsening the climate crisis and threatening the health of young people in Pennsylvania. The petition argues that the state’s permit for this plant violates the Pennsylvania Constitution’s promise to protect the environment for current and future generations, including rights to life, health, and safety. Ashley is leading by example, showing her daughter and the public that youth voices must be heard when government action threatens their health and futures.

These young people join a broader movement of communities refusing to accept harm from those in power—resisting in courtrooms, in streets, and through our collective voices.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

* Trauma-Informed Care: Our Children’s Trust is committed to utilizing trauma-informed care in every aspect of our work. Our unique trauma-informed model addresses climate anxiety and institutional betrayal by giving youth agency through litigation and advocacy. We give youth a platform to not only have their worries seen and heard, but to become a catalyst of change in lasting, systemic change through the judicial system. Check out our new webpage ([link removed]) explaining this important work.
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* Lighthiser v. Trump: Former senior U.S. government officials, legal scholars, climate scientists, faith leaders, children’s rights scholars, and environmental law experts have filed 8 amicus briefs ([link removed]) supporting 22 young Americans challenging President Trump’s fossil fuel executive orders in Lighthiser, now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The amici underscore that these executive actions are unconstitutional directives that endanger young people’s lives, health, and safety.

* Navahine Settlement News Coverage: On June 20, 2024, Navahine v. Hawai‘i Department of Transportation made history as the first constitutional youth-led climate case focused on decarbonizing transportation to reach a settlement agreement. In this new video ([link removed]) , DW News highlights the settlement as youth plaintiffs Navahine and Kaliko share their stories of how climate harms have affected their lives, and the progress of the settlement and climate recovery in Hawai'i.

In solidarity,
The Team at Our Children’s Trust

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