May, 17 2016, 04:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Julia Olson, E.D. and Chief Legal Counsel, Our Children’s Trust, 415-786-4825, julia@ourchildrenstrust.org
Youth Climate Advocates Secure Victory in Massachusetts Climate Change Lawsuit
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rejects DEP’s arguments, finds that existing schemes “fall short”, and orders annual reductions in greenhouse gases
WASHINGTON
Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found in favor of four youth plaintiffs, the Conservation Law Foundation, and Mass Energy Consumers Alliance in the critical climate change case, Kain et al. v. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The Court found that the DEP was not complying with its legal obligation to reduce the State's GHG emissions and ordered the agency to "promulgate regulations that address multiple sources or categories of sources of greenhouse gas emissions, impose a limit on emissions that may be released . . . and set limits that decline on an annual basis."
"This is an historic victory for young generations advocating for changes to be made by government. The global climate change crisis is a threat to the well being of humanity, and to my generation, that has been ignored for too long," said Youth Plaintiff Shamus Miller, age 17. "Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Court has recognized the scope and urgency of that threat and acknowledges the need for immediate action to help slow the progression of climate change. There is much more to be done both nationally and internationally but this victory is a step in the right direction and I hope that future efforts have similar success."
In 2012, hundreds of youth petitioned the DEP asking the agency to comply with the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) and adopt rules reducing the State's GHG emissions, but that petition was denied. As a result of DEP's reluctance to comply with the GWSA, youth filed this case arguing that the DEP failed to promulgate the regulations required by Section 3(d) of the GWSA establishing declining annual levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Massachusetts is not on track to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas reduction goal of 25% below 1990 levels - a fact that is directly related to DEP's failure to issue the required regulations. The plaintiffs are working to ensure that Massachusetts is complying with the law and doing everything necessary to protect their constitutional and public trust rights to clean air, a healthy atmosphere, and a stable climate system.
"In agreeing with the youth plaintiffs in this case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court joins growing global judicial recognition of youth's rights to demand that their governments act in accordance with the urgency of the climate change crisis," said Julia Olson, executive director and chief legal counsel at Our Children's Trust. "Youth around the country and internationally are bringing their governments to court to secure their rights to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate. Today, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court called Massachusetts to task and underscored the need to take significant action now, so youth are not unfairly consigned to a disproportionately bleak future should we fail to address the most important and time sensitive issue of our time." This win follows two other recent landmark wins in youth-led lawsuits against the federal government and the State of Washington.
The lawsuit was filed with the help of Our Children's Trust, an Oregon-based non-profit orchestrating a game-changing, youth-driven legal campaign in the United States and around the globe. Related cases brought by youth to protect the atmosphere are pending before other U.S. courts in the federal district court in Oregon, and in the state courts of Pennsylvania, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, as well as in several other countries. The youth plaintiffs in Massachusetts are represented by attorneys Dylan Sanders and Phelps Turner at Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C. in Boston.
Our Children's Trust is a nonprofit organization advocating for urgent emissions reductions on behalf of youth and future generations, who have the most to lose if emissions are not reduced. OCT is spearheading the international human rights and environmental TRUST Campaign to compel governments to safeguard the atmosphere as a "public trust" resource. We use law, film, and media to elevate their compelling voices. Our ultimate goal is for governments to adopt and implement enforceable science-based Climate Recovery Plans with annual emissions reductions to return to an atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 350 ppm.
LATEST NEWS
BREAKING: Biden to 'Stand Down'; Endorses Kamala Harris
' I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year'
Jul 21, 2024
Breaking News...more to come
UPDATE : In response to President Biden’s announcement that he is no longer seeking reelection, MoveOn Political Action Executive Director Rahna Epting released the following statement:
“President Joe Biden‘s legacy is defined by defeating Donald Trump, restoring our nation’s commitment to our democracy, and delivering one of the most impressive domestic policy agendas in modern history. Just like he did in 2020, President Biden is making a tremendous personal sacrifice to preserve our democracy, putting the interest of the American people first, and he has the gratitude of our nation and our millions of members.
“Vice President Harris is tested and respected, and her voice is critically important at this moment. MoveOn and our members have her back and believe that those who share our commitment to winning this election and protecting our futures will do everything in their power to lift her up and stop Trump in his tracks.
MoveOn is more driven than ever to unifying the anti-Trump coalition and defeating Donald Trump and extremist MAGA Republicans once again in 2024. We are all in on electing Kamala Harris and Democrats to the U.S. House and Senate and we look forward to engaging our members and surge voters across the country to rise up and make their voices heard this fall.”
President Joe Biden has made the decision to not run for president. Read his just released statement below.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Israeli Military Strikes Claim Lives of 64 Individuals in a Single Day
'When is enough? When will the war ever end?'
Jul 21, 2024
The local Health Ministry says at least 64 people were killed and 105 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours. Many victims are still under the rubble and on roads, with civil defense crews not able to reach them, it adds.
The Israeli military has launched numerous deadly strikes focused on the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, including the targeting of multiple UN-run schools housing displaced people.
Nuseirat residents described living in constant fear of being bombed and a deteriorating humanitarian situation.
“The situation is scary,” said Rahma Abu Hajjaj, a 39-year-old mother of five from Nuserirat. “There are no warnings, there are no alarms when homes are bombed, we are hiding all the time and we do not know why they are targeting these homes.”
"We hear the sounds of explosions in Nuseirat and we see the smoke rising from here in Deir Al-Balah, the last refuge you can say and we are being terrorized by the feeling tanks may roll here," Tamer Aburakan, a resident of Gaza City, told
Reuters.
"Where should we go next? The entire Gaza Strip is under fire, and we are being hunted like deer in a forest. When is enough? When will the war ever end?" he said via a chat app.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to travel to the US on Monday. Netanyahu is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon. The next day, he is due to address a joint session of US Congress.
Thousands of people are expected to protest against the visit of Netanyahu for whom the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking an arrest warrant for war crimes.
At least 38,983 Palestinians have been killed and 89,727 others injured in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday, including the 64 people killed in the last 24 hours.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Israel Bombs Yemen Saturday in Escalation with Houthis
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv
Jul 20, 2024
Houthi-run media say Israeli air strikes Saturday targeted oil storage facilities in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah and that there are an unspecified number of fatalities and injuries.
The attack came a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed one person and struck just yards from a U.S. Embassy branch office.
Israel’s air strikes will not stop the Houthi's military operations in support of the Palestinian people, Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said in a post on X, warning they will instead increase until the war in Gaza ends. “The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting civilian facilities, and we will meet escalation with escalation,” al-Bukhaiti wrote.
Military and political analyst Elijah Magnier told Al Jazeera, “Is this going to change the course of action of a non-state actor that is motivated to support the people of Gaza? Certainly not,” Magnier said. “They’ve been given a perfect reason to increase the attacks. We have not seen the end of it – far from it,” he said.
In another post on X, the Houthis’ spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, called the Israeli air strikes “a brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen that aims to deepen people’s suffering and to pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza.” Abdulsalam called the attack an Israeli “dream that will not come true. We affirm that this brutal aggression will only increase the determination of the Yemeni people and their valiant armed forces to be steadfast and to continue their support for Gaza. The Yemeni people are able to face all challenges for the sake of victory for oppressed Palestine and the people of Gaza, whose cause is the most just on earth.”
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular