YOUTH TAKE U.S. CLIMATE CASE TO GLOBAL STAGE!

OUR CHILDREN’S TRUST ET AL., V. United States

On September 23, 2025, fifteen young Americans—formerly the plaintiffs in the landmark constitutional climate case Juliana v. United States—together with their advocates at Our Children’s Trust, filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). This petition, "Our Children’s Trust with 15 Juliana Plaintiffs v. The United States of America," accuses the U.S. government of violating their fundamental human rights. 

The Juliana v. United States youth plaintiffs filed their case in August 2015, challenging the federal government’s actions that worsen the climate crisis and violate their rights. For the next decade, they fought tirelessly to secure children’s climate rights. Yet, despite their persistence, their case met unprecedented government resistance—resulting in no trial, no testimony, and no justice.   

They’re still not backing down. Now, they're seeking justice before an international human rights tribunal.  

What the Petition Argues

The petition alleges that fifty years of U.S. energy policies and practices have substantially caused and contributed to dangerous greenhouse gas pollution, depriving petitioners of their rights guaranteed under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, international human rights law, and customary international law. It also emphasizes how the government’s repeated efforts to block Juliana v. United States from going to trial violated the youth’s procedural rights to access justice and effective remedies. 

This petition is the first climate rights filing to follow the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ (IACtHR) landmark Advisory Opinion in July 2025. In that opinion, the Court declared a “climate emergency," recognized the independent right to a healthy climate, and obligated national governments—including the U.S. federal government—to prevent significant harm to the global climate system and mitigate the emission of greenhouse gas pollution. 

For over half a century, the U.S. government has known about the dangers of climate change and the harm to children, yet continued to expand fossil fuel development, willfully endangering the lives of children, breaking existing international law, and violating their fundamental rights to a safe climate.  

This legal action follows 15 years of climate advocacy and legal battles led by young people across the Americas, and recognizes an action led by Indigenous leaders such as Sheila Watt-Cloutier, who first framed climate change as a human rights issue by bringing a Petition to the Inter-American Commission two decades ago.  

What the Petitioners Are Asking For

The petitioners are asking the Commission to: 

• Declare the case admissible 

• Commit to a site visit to meet with the youth petitioners and hear about the harms they have endured  

• Find that the government has violated the youth petitioners' basic rights—like the rights to life, health, equality, and justice.   

• Recommend strong climate action in line with recent international court decisions   

The petition calls for recommendations aligned with recent Advisory Opinions from two of the highest courts in the world — the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice. 

CURRENT STATUS:

On September 23, 2025, 15 young Americans and their advocates filed a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against the United States government for climate-related human rights violations. They now await a response from the Commission.