April 13, 2026: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Grants Motion to Dismiss

A panel of judges at the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the case, stating that the youth plaintiffs lack Article III standing. 

Following the decision, Mat dos Santos, Co-Executive Director of Our Children’s Trust, issued the following statement: 

“This decision closes the courthouse doors on children seeking protection of their most basic constitutional right: equal protection under the law. By declining to reinstate the case, the Court leaves in place a framework that discriminates against young people and worsens the life-threatening harms from heat, wildfire smoke, and climate disasters without judicial review. Children are bearing the heaviest burdens of a crisis they did not create, while the government knowingly permits policies that discount their lives and put their health, safety, and futures at risk. We will continue to fight unlawful discrimination until we secure the constitutional protections that every child is owed.”