Eighteen California children appeared in federal court this week, putting their landmark lawsuit in jeopardy over claims that U.S. climate policies intentionally discriminate against minors.
The children, ages 8 to 17, are suing the U.S. government and the federal Environmental Protection Agency for violating their constitutional rights. Their attorneys claim the state’s environmental policies allowed dangerous levels of greenhouse gases to be released and accumulate in the atmosphere because they knew the emissions would jeopardize their well-being and future.
While younger generations will undoubtedly experience the worst effects of global warming, children have little, if any, influence over the rules that shape their futures.
“Their only remedy is not the ballot box, elections or political power,” said Julia Olson, an attorney for Our Children’s Trust, an Oregon-based nonprofit that has established offices in several states. Legal action was launched over climate change.
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But Justice Department lawyers this week asked a federal judge in California to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing in part that the court lacks the authority to make sweeping public policy changes.
Judge Michael Fitzgerald, 64, acknowledged that climate change will have a profound impact on all Americans, especially those “younger than my age or the president.” But Fitzgerald, who did not rule Monday, said he was leaning toward siding with the administration, noting that those decisions should be left to Congress and the executive branch.
“Everyone has a variety of ways to express their political views,” Fitzgerald said, noting that he volunteered for an elected official as a child.
In the coming weeks, Fitzgerald will rule on whether the case can proceed to trial. Ironically, 18 plaintiffs — whose communities have been devastated by wildfires, floods or heat waves — remained silent in court Monday as the children’s rights case proceeds.
Outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse, however, the children and their attorneys expressed their desire to be heard.
Among them is Genesis B., a 17-year-old from Long Beach whose home has no air conditioning. She experienced the summer heat so much that she waited until sunset to start doing her homework. By then, she’s usually tired and dehydrated.
Genesis said she hopes Fitzgerald will allow the case to move forward because she feels the lawsuit is their best chance to make changes.
“I would say for future generations, because this is a planet for everyone,” she said. “The quote I wanted to share with the judge is: ‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.'”
“When the EPA looks at the value of life, it doesn’t value the lives of children as much as the lives of children [as an adult’s] Our Children Trust is an Oregon-based nonprofit that has filed lawsuits in multiple states over climate change.
(Danya Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
Olson said one of the main arguments in their lawsuit is that the EPA’s analysis of air pollution and greenhouse gases considers the lives of adults to be more valuable than the lives of children.
“When the EPA looks at the value of life, it does not consider the lives of children to be of equal value because they are not a source of income,” Olson said outside the courthouse. “All of these economic analyzes drive governments’ decisions about whether to control pollution or allow it. If it’s cheaper to allow it, then they’ll continue to allow it.
Federal lawyers argue that no court ruling can repair previous damage caused by climate change.
But the children and their attorneys argue the case is also about mitigating future harm.
“This may not automatically reverse the damage,” said Maryam A., 13, of Santa Monica. “But I think as government officials, you should be able to protect all Americans, regardless of age, gender, race or anything like that.
“You dismiss our claims because we were kids, but that doesn’t invalidate what happened to us. I feel like sometimes people might not take kids sitting in the courthouse seriously. But we’re just like everyone else.
The plaintiffs argue that in order to reduce levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere this century, the U.S. government needs to stop burning fossil fuels by 2050. Specific policy actions can achieve this goal.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and other countries continue to suffer record heat, intensifying wildfires and powerful storms.
Avroh S., a 14-year-old student from Palo Alto, said his middle school experienced extreme storms and flooding that caused power outages and prompted evacuations. For him and other plaintiffs, these recurring natural disasters only heighten the importance of their cases.
“Indifference is not the answer. Action is,” he said. “If climate change hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be here. I’d rather be hanging out with my friends or at school.
