California Youth Argue Their Constitutional Climate Case Before the Ninth Circuit
On March 5th, 2026, eighteen California children and youth appeared before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to argue their constitutional climate case, Genesis v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During oral arguments, they asked the Court to reverse a lower court dismissal that prevented them from presenting evidence at trial showing how EPA’s policies discriminate against children in regulating climate pollution.
Young People in Alaska Defend Their Constitutional Rights Before the Alaska Supreme Court
On March 4th, 2026, young people in Alaska stood before the Alaska Supreme Court to defend their constitutional rights in Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II, urging the Court to reverse a lower court decision that dismissed their youth-led climate case.
Despite the below-freezing temperatures, Anchorage community members gathered to hold signs and cheer on the plaintiffs during their walk to the courthouse. The supporters joined the youth in the courtroom, filling in the seats behind them.
Alaska Native Youth Take Their State to Court to Stop the Alaska LNG Megaproject and Protect Their Futures
In a landmark climate case, eight young people across Alaska filed Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II to stop the massive LNG (liquified natural gas) project that threatens their homes, futures, and the sacred lands their people have stewarded for thousands of years. At a time when climate pollution must be rapidly reduced to avoid further climate harms to Alaska’s youth, the Alaska LNG Project would more than triple Alaska’s climate pollution for decades to come.
Be present. Bear witness. Show that children’s lives matter.
Last week, the wind outside my house reached nearly 60 miles per hour. The rain was loud. The thunder was close. Storms like that are not normal for this time of year where I live in Los Angeles. A few weeks ago, it was cold. Soon it will be extremely hot. This is what it feels like to be young right now: unpredictable, uncertain, and a little frightening.
My name is Genesis. I am 19 years old, Afro-Indigenous and Mexican, and I have spent most of my life standing up for my community, for myself, and for our planet.
Unity and Action: The Way Forward to Protecting Constitutional Rights
Just weeks after returning from Kenya, Rikki has filed her third constitutional rights climate lawsuit as lead plaintiff in Held v. State of Montana II, a case that seeks to force the state to comply with the landmark climate ruling the Montana Supreme Court issued in Held in December 2024.
Natalie Roberts is Full of Purpose and Positivity Heading into Her Second Constitutional Rights Case
The air quality in Salt Lake City is often so bad, some days Natalie Roberts can’t even go outside or see down to the end of her street. From a young age, she has felt the weight of a future threatened by worsening air quality from fossil fuel pollution and climate change, not just for herself but for all young Utahns. So, she stepped out and pursued an avenue of systemic change: the judicial system.
Former Youth Plaintiff Ashley Funk is Representing Her Daughter in New Climate Case: “There's So Much Left Worth Fighting For”
Ashley Funk, a seventh-generation Pennsylvanian, has spent much of her life in court. She has appeared not as a defendant, but as a defender of constitutional rights. As a young person, she served as the lead plaintiff in two constitutional climate rights lawsuits represented by Our Children’s Trust.
Democracy Feels Like I Can Breathe: Joseph is Taking His Future Into His Own Hands
Joseph’s first memory of nature was when his parents took him to Sequoia National Park. That was the first time he realized how vast the wonders of nature were, “relative to my tiny, itsy bitsy, 5-year-old self.”
Teaching the Next Generation: How Hawaiʻi's Educators Are Bringing Constitutional Rights into the Classroom
When 13 young people stood up for their constitutional right to a life-sustaining climate and achieved a historic settlement in Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, they didn't just win in court—they opened a door for every student in Hawaiʻi to understand their own power as citizens.
Ruin to Resilience: How Destruction Led to Action for this 3-Time Plaintiff
Delaney Reynolds has watched the places she loves disappear before her eyes. She has seen her home damaged from hurricanes, felt the surrounding waters of the Florida Keys warm to unprecedented levels, watched the coral reefs near her home bleach and die, and has witnessed the sea level rise consume some of the places she loves most. It was this destruction that compelled her to join Lighthiser v. Trump, a historic youth-led federal climate change case, as a plaintiff.
Generations of Change: An End-of-Year Reflection with Youth Plaintiff Jeff and His Mom, Laura
When Jeff first became a plaintiff in Held v. Montana, he was six years old. His mother, Laura, remembers telling Jeff and his little brother Nate, also a plaintiff, about the case during bathtime. Now, at nearly twelve, after the groundbreaking win of Held v. Montana, Jeff is again stepping into the national spotlight as one of the youth plaintiffs in Lighthiser v. Trump, a case that could shape the future of climate policy for generations.
Uniting for Climate Rights: West Coast Environmental Law Joins Canadian Youth-Led Climate Lawsuit
Across Canada, the signs of a worsening climate crisis are impossible to ignore—wildfires blanketing skies in smoke, floods swallowing communities, and rising costs leaving families struggling to rebuild. For the young Canadians behind La Rose v. His Majesty the King, these are not distant threats but daily realities that jeopardize their futures and violate their Charter rights to life, liberty, and security of the person. Determined to hold their government accountable, they are preparing to make history at the first federal climate trial in Canada.
The Great White North Is Burning!
Canada holds a special place in my heart. I began visiting the Great White North as a baby on family vacations. We would boat across Lake of the Woods from Minnesota’s Northwest Angle into Manitoba waters, where the better fishing lay. I turned these youthful trips to Canadian lakes and rivers into my Ph.D. research, documenting the final retreat and disappearance of the world’s largest ice sheet, the Laurentide. This research led me to drive across northern Manitoba and Quebec. As a professor, I expanded that work to Labrador, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. I’ve also kicked around Nova Scotia, visiting a Canadian marine core lab there to sample sediments that would record Laurentide meltwater discharge through the St. Lawrence Seaway to the North Atlantic and how it impacted ocean circulation.
An Indigenous Youth’s Journey for Climate Justice in Canada
For 21-year-old Leandrea, a member of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation who lives in Whitehorse, Yukon, the fight against the climate crisis is personal, physical and cultural. “Climate change doesn’t just affect our land,” she says. “It affects the ways we live, heal, and connect. The climate crisis is a cultural crisis too.”
Wisconsin Youth Take Bold Legal Action for Climate Justice and Constitutional Rights
Children across the U.S. are growing up on the frontlines of the climate crisis—losing their homes to wildfires, storms, and floods, while their health is put at risk and rights are violated by their own governments. Unable to vote, 15 children from across Wisconsin are standing up to change that, taking legal action to protect their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and a stable climate system.
Youth Plaintiffs Challenge President Trump’s Fossil Fuel Executive Orders in Historic Federal Hearing
As the Trump administration moves aggressively to unleash more fossil fuels through executive orders that worsen climate change, obstruct the clean energy transition, and suppress the very science needed to protect children and ecosystems on the brink, 22 young Americans have bravely stepped forward. They’re suing the administration to protect their constitutional rights to life and liberty, and stop the executive orders that harm their health and safety.
One Year Later: Hawaiʻi's Climate Settlement Delivers Transformative Progress
Just over a year ago, a significant moment occurred in Hawaiʻi's climate history. After thirteen youth plaintiffs, represented by Our Children's Trust, took the state to the brink of trial in Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, the Director of HDOT made a crucial decision: to choose collaboration over confrontation. The settlement that followed—the first of its kind in the United States—committed Hawaiʻi to reaching zero emissions from ground, marine, and interisland air travel by 2045.
Youth Power is Steering the Future of Electric Transportation in Hawai‘i
One year ago, youth in Hawaiʻi made history. Through Navahine v. HDOT, they secured a first-of-its-kind legal settlement agreement to decarbonize Hawaiʻi’s transportation system by 2045 and protect young people’s constitutional rights to a livable climate. But the fight didn’t end with the legal victory—it was just the beginning.
Eva Lighthiser Is Suing for Her Future—Again
As the lead plaintiff in Lighthiser v. Trump, Eva Lighthiser returns to the courtroom nearly two years after her groundbreaking role in Held v. State of Montana, a landmark case that secured constitutional protections against fossil fuel harms in her home state. Now, facing a new challenge on the federal stage, Eva opens up about why she continues to fight for climate justice, the personal toll of defending her rights in court, and what winning this case would mean for her generation’s future—both legally and personally.
Why Every Ton of Greenhouse Gas Pollution Matters for Children’s Health
Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is the most profound health threat facing children today—and their greatest opportunity for health improvement if we act. As both a practicing pediatrician and the Executive Director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, I witness firsthand how the climate crisis affects children’s bodies, minds, and futures. This is not an abstract threat or one that lies far in the future; it is harming children right now.