Dear friends,

We are thrilled to announce that we filed a new youth-led constitutional climate lawsuit today on behalf of seven young people in Utah. In Natalie R. v. State of Utah, the youth plaintiffs assert that the State of Utah is actively causing and contributing to the climate crisis and Utah’s dangerous air quality by maximizing, promoting, and systematically authorizing the development of fossil fuels. The result of these affirmative government actions is hazardous air quality and other dangerous impacts of the climate crisis that directly harm the young plaintiffs and violate their state constitutional rights to life, health, and safety.

Please Join Us In Supporting These Seven Young People as They Seek to Secure Their Legal Right to a Safe Climate in Utah!

All About Natalie R. v. State of Utah
In the complaint filed today with co-counsel attorneys at Deiss Law PC in Salt Lake City, the youth plaintiffs assert:

      “The past and continuing development of Utah’s fossil fuels presents an            existential threat to Utah’s youth. Because of the development and                      combustion of fossil fuels, Utah has the worst average air quality in the              nation and is already experiencing profoundly dangerous climate changes,        including increasing temperatures and deadly heat waves, increasingly              frequent and severe wildfires and wildfire smoke, exceptional drought,                exacerbation of medical conditions and health risks, and other harms.                Dangerous air quality and climate change in Utah are harming the health            and safety of Utah’s youth, interfering with their healthy development, and          taking years off of their lives.”

The seven children and teenagers we represent in this case range in age from 9 to 18 years old. Six of the seven plaintiffs are under the age of 18 and have no vote or say in the vital decisions their state government is knowingly making on fossil fuels and their devastating impacts.

What Are the Youth Requesting from the Court?

It’s worth saying again: Utah has the worst average air quality of any state in the nation. This dangerous air quality and other disastrous climate changes in the state are already harming the health and safety of Utah’s youth, interfering with their healthy development and taking years off of their lives. To protect their state constitutional rights and hold their government accountable for its affirmative actions causing this hazardous air pollution and other harmful climate impacts, the youth plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the state’s statutory policies of maximizing, promoting, and systematically permitting fossil fuel development to be unconstitutional. This declaratory judgment would then require the State of Utah to stop carrying out and implementing unconstitutional laws that worsen the climate crisis and violate the rights of Utah’s youth.

Andrew Welle, Our Children’s Trust Senior Staff Attorney and lead counsel for the youth plaintiffs, stated “Utah’s fossil fuel development policy poses an existential threat to Utah’s children, sacrificing their health, safety, and lives for the short-term profits of the fossil fuel industry. The State’s policy has placed these youth in an emergency and every day it remains on the books brings them into further danger. Only Utah’s courts can provide the relief these youth urgently need. Only the courts can decide whether the State’s policy violates their rights.”

What You Can Do!

We recently wrote to you how - in the face of devastating global news, including a dire new climate report from the IPCC - we here at Our Children’s Trust are not despairing but rather are doubling down on climate action. Filing this new case in Utah and representing these young people in the Beehive State is yet another way we’re doubling down. With your invaluable support, we are excited to represent these seven youth plaintiffs - all at no cost to them or their families - as they seek to secure the legal protection of their right to a safe climate in Utah.

Last month, we filed a new case in Virginia. Today, we filed in Utah. And we’ll be filing more new cases soon, representing even more young people who are holding their governments accountable for affirmative actions causing the climate crisis, demanding that our courts do their duty and protect the constitutional rights of our children. We invite you to join our rapidly expanding community of donors who provide the vital financial resources that enable us to accelerate and expand our efforts representing and supporting these brave young climate leaders. If you’ve already made a contribution this year, please consider a special gift of any amount in support of Natalie R. v State of Utah, or extend your gift by signing on as a monthly donor. 

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. 

Join Us for an Online Event Next Wednesday!
To celebrate this new case and the seven incredible young plaintiffs fighting for climate justice in Utah, we’d like to invite you to join us for an online event next Wednesday, March 23rd. Come meet some of the youth plaintiffs and their attorneys as well as learn more about their case and what happens next now that they’ve filed their constitutional climate case with the court. We hope to see you then!

WHAT: Climate Justice in Utah: Natalie R. v. State of Utah
WHEN: Wednesday, March 23rd at 4:00-5:00pm PDT / 5:00-6:00 MDT / 6:00-7:00 CDT / 7:00-8:00 EDT
WHERE: Register to join us online here!

To climate justice in Utah,

The Team at Our Children’s Trust