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Hi friends,
We’re writing today to share some of the rapidly building momentum behind our youth-led, rights-based climate litigation. Things are happening - and fast!
New Briefs in Support of our Youth Clients from Six States and the NRDC
In the last few weeks, amicus briefs in support of the youth plaintiffs in Juliana v. U.S. were filed by the Attorney General of New York - signed by attorneys general from five additional states: Delaware, Hawai’i, Oregon, Minnesota, and Vermont - AND one of the nation’s largest environmental law and advocacy organizations, the NRDC. These “friend of the court” briefs bolster the Juliana youth plaintiffs’ opposition to the efforts of 18 Republican attorneys general who are seeking to impede progress of this case and prevent the youths’ evidence from being heard in open court. Having these new and particularly powerful “friends of the court” lining up behind the Juliana 21, joining the hundreds of others who’ve already filed amicus briefs in support of the youth, is tremendously significant!
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Juliana youth plaintiffs in Portland, Oregon, 2019 (Photo by Robin Loznak)
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Opinions in the Media
Last week, two important opinion pieces were also published by Our Children’s Trust youth plaintiffs and staff. First, you can read this powerful op-ed written by two youth plaintiffs in our Alaska case, Sagoonick v. State of Alaska, where they call on their state Supreme Court to join the many courts around the world who are doing their duty to hear evidence in climate litigation. Then, check out an op-ed written by our Managing Attorney, Mat dos Santos, on why the Juliana youth plaintiffs have the right to trial. This op-ed was published in The Hill (an influential inside-the-DC-beltway media outlet) and serves as a rebuttal to an inaccurate and misleading op-ed against Juliana v. U.S. that ran in The Hill the previous week. Check out how Mat refuted each of their incorrect arguments, and makes the clear case for us to advance to trial, here!
An Essay by Bill McKibben
Lastly, if you subscribe to Bill McKibben’s (founder of 350.org) newsletter in The New Yorker - “The Climate Crisis” - you may have already seen last week’s essay about how the Biden Administration is not living up to their promises on climate action. Click here to read his latest piece where he expresses grave concern about the Department of Justice’s litigation strategy in Juliana v. United States, and where he again calls this landmark case “perhaps the most important climate-change litigation ever pursued in this country.”
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“If no settlement is reached, [Juliana v. United States] would then likely go to trial. The Department of Justice should let it, rather than try to sideline it further…”
- Bill McKibben, Founder of 350.org
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Let the Youth Be Heard!
As Juliana v. U.S. advances toward trial, and we anticipate decisions any day now in two of our state constitutional climate cases from the Alaska Supreme Court and the First Judicial District Court in Montana, momentum for constitutional climate protections in the U.S. is continuing to build through our efforts. Thank you, Attorneys General Letitia James (NY), Kathy Jennings (DE), Clare E. Connors (HI), Keith Ellison (MN), Ellen Rosenblum (OR), and T.J. Donovan (VT) and their teams, Bill McKibben, and the NRDC for standing with young people over the past week. And thank you, our stalwart community of supporters, for seeing the path to justice and for your enduring support and solidarity as we secure climate rights now for our children and future generations!
The Team at Our Children’s Trust
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