Don’t Despair. Double Down!
The distressing nature of yesterday’s news - as well as its timing in the midst of war in Europe and an ongoing global pandemic - may lead some folks to feel despair. That’s real and that’s ok. But don’t get stuck there. Instead, join us in doubling down.
Humanity’s time to act is limited. The emergency is real. But thanks to supporters like you, the team at Our Children’s Trust is leveraging more than a decade of expertise in groundbreaking climate rights litigation and doubling down on immediate efforts to protect our children's right to a safe climate and hold their governments accountable.
We are preparing for trial in Montana, now less than a year away. We are awaiting a ruling in Juliana v. United States which, if favorable, will put us and the U.S. federal government back on the path to trial. We are filing several new youth-led cases - a new case in Virginia just last month and two more state cases, as well as additional youth-led litigation in other jurisdictions we will share with you very soon, to be filed in the next few months. We are also going back to judiciaries who unjustly and incorrectly shut down previous efforts to seek justice for the youth we represent, young people who are unwilling to give up and are ready to try again.
At Our Children’s Trust, we don’t despair. We double down. The climate crisis is accelerating but so are we.
The Solution to the Crisis is Here and It is Close.
When we began our groundbreaking work 12 years ago to secure the legal right to a safe climate for our children and future generations, it was seen as a novel, outside-the-box legal strategy that many saw as too risky. It was an uphill climb to argue the validity of our claims, the solidity of our standing. Our attorneys had to work hard to convince judges to fulfill their constitutional duties to protect the rights of children to a safe climate. Today, in 2022, we are in the midst of a seismic shift of opinion in our courtrooms. Trial dates are being scheduled. Judges are split with an increasing number agreeing with us, court by court, case by case. Judicial dissents are frequent and emphatic to unjust majority opinions.
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Just some of the hundreds of young people around the world we represent and support in climate litigation
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The single most powerful tool we have to address the climate crisis is in our sights: the law. Governments have been receiving dire reports from individual scientists and bodies like the IPCC for DECADES and yet they still have not voluntarily ended their actions that knowingly make the crisis worse. History has shown us again and again that governmental bodies frequently do not end self-serving policies and actions that violate people’s rights until they are forced to by a judiciary. This is why we have checks and balances. Our courts are charged with putting the value of people’s lives and the protection of their rights above the fiscal goals and political ambitions of elected officials and governments. It is a critical check-and-balance designed by so many of our nations’ founders.
If there is any hope of stopping the runaway train of our climate crisis, it lies in our courts. Not with cases like the West Virginia v. EPA case argued on Monday in the U.S. Supreme Court, which was about the validity of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan - a plan which has never been implemented, would not have lowered emissions any more than they are today, and is no longer a regulation that anyone wants to use (and thus should not be the subject of a lawsuit today.) Instead, hope lies in these youth bringing vital constitutional rights questions to the courts to clearly demonstrate what their governments, and agencies like EPA, have done to take away their basic human rights by allowing for so much climate destabilization over decades and decades of gross mismanagement.
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“The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet…Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.”
- Hans-Otto Pörtner, IPCC
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Individual Action = Big Impact
So many of the global issues with which we are contending at this moment feel overwhelming. You might be wondering how you, as one individual, can make a difference in such global, systemic crises. One immediately accessible and empowering course of action is to support our youth plaintiffs. These young people, who are actively experiencing climate harms across the United States and around the world, are suing their own governments in order to secure their legal rights and demand government accountability for its actions causing and worsening the climate crisis. These children are leading the way and they need us to help.
Here are some of the critical things your support helps us provide these amazing youth, all at no cost to our young clients or their families:
- Expert legal representation
- A team of climate, health, economics, and energy experts to testify on their behalf
- Media training and public opportunities to raise their voice
- Trainings, guidance, and support from trauma professionals to assist them on their journey
- Opportunities to come together in and as a community to strengthen their resilience for this struggle for justice
- The ability to attend court hearings, trial, and other key moments in their cases
- The chance to stand up and make an incredible, lasting change in righting long-standing climate wrongs for their generation and those to follow
We are able to do all of this thanks to the invaluable support of individuals like you. Every person who donates to Our Children’s Trust is a member of a rapidly expanding global community of supporters who are driving forward this crucially time-sensitive work. Each and every person who donates to Our Children’s Trust is an investor in the hopeful futures of our youth plaintiffs and children like them around the world.
Gifts of any amount are immediately put to work. Recurring donations, starting at just $1 month, are critical contributions that, combined with the gifts of fellow global citizens, become a force multiplier for collectively taking immediate, effective climate action. Every dollar we receive goes toward providing our young plaintiffs with the very best legal representation, as well as amplifying their stories in the media and educating the public, reporters, and even the judiciary on the rights of children to a safe climate.
In just a few minutes, with just a few dollars, you can be a critical part of the solution to this global crisis. Please donate today.
Our work is urgent and our small, fierce team is doubling down. Together, we will win. Join us.
The Team at Our Children’s Trust
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