EUGENE, OR – There are 21 children and teens from Oregon, California, and Washington ready for their lawsuit against the federal government to go on trial on Oct. 29. The teens argue that nothing less than the future of the planet is at stake.
The Trump is administration is trying – again – to stop the case from moving forward. They have asked the Supreme Court to step in and stop the suit.
The administration argues that the suit “amounts to the astounding assertion that permitting or encouraging the combustion of fossil fuels violates the due-process clause of the Constitution and a single district court in a suit brought by a handful of plaintiffs may decree the end of the carbon-based features of the United States’ energy system.”
While the Justice Department says that for the courts to allow the suit to proceed would be to ignore “the statutory and regulatory framework Congress enacted to address such issues with broad public input.”
At the same time, Justice Department lawyers, in a filing last year, stated that they did not dispute many of the assertions made by the lawsuit. They agreed that the teens had shown they’d been damaged by climate change Get all the latest information on what’s happening in your community by signing up for Patch’s newsletters and breaking news alerts
This is the second time that the administration sought help from the Supreme Court.
Last July, the court refused the request for help, saying that it was premature.
The suit was filed three years ago and demands that the federal government do more to protect the planet from climate change.
The teens argue that the federal government has known the dangers involved in the use of fossil fuels and, despite that, continues to issue permits allowing their use and encourages their use.
The lawsuit demands that the court direct the federal government to stop issuing permits and providing subsidies for fossil fuel use and create a plan to stabilize the climate.
The teens cite numerous scientific studies that show the use of fossil fuels create carbon emissions that have destabilized the planet’s climate.
The administration says that by allowing the case to go forward, Federal Judge Ann Aiken endorsed “a never-before-recognized fundamental right to a particular climate system that lacks any support in the Constitution, this court’s precedents, or this nation’s history and tradition.”
Lawyers for the teens disagreed with the Justice Department, pointing out that the courts – including the Supreme Court – has addressed many issues that were procedurally similar to environmental legislation including voting rights, prison systems, and education.
Aiken disagreed writing that, “Exercising my ‘reasoned judgment,’ I have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society.”
As of late Friday, there was no word from the Supreme Court on whether they would arguments from the administration.
Photo via Shutterstock.
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