Montana’s highest court on Dec. 18 ruled for climate activists, finding that the state violated residents’ constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas, and coal projects without environmental considerations.
The ruling upholds a lower court decision, which found activists have suffered past and ongoing injuries from the state’s failure to act on greenhouse gases and the climate.
The Montana Supreme Court’s 6–1 ruling on Wednesday rejected arguments from state officials, including a claim that even if Montana addressed greenhouse gas emissions, the effect would be minuscule when considering global emissions.
“The State repeatedly tries to redirect our focus to global climate change and the staggering magnitude of the issue confronting the world in addressing it. The State argues that it should not have to address its affirmative duty to a clean and healthful environment because even if Montana addresses its contribution to climate change, it will still be a problem if the rest of the world has not reduced its emissions. This is akin to the old ad populum fallacy: ‘If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?’” Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote in the majority opinion….