Looking back on our 2021
As we look forward to a year of climate justice in 2022, we wanted to take the opportunity to reflect back on and appreciate the many things we achieved, with your support, in 2021. Here is a quick review of some of the 2021 highlights in our fight to protect the rights of youth to a safe climate:
january 2021
January 12: Climate Recovery Discussions Held with Legal Experts and Peers
In anticipation of President Biden’s inauguration, Our Children’s Trust attorneys held informal online climate recovery discussions with legal experts, peers, and scholars to explore opportunities to work with the new administration to secure climate justice for youth plaintiffs in the United States.
february 2021
February 18: Oral arguments in Held v. State of Montana
Roger Sullivan of McGarvey Law in Kalispell, co-counsel with Our Children’s Trust, presented oral arguments on behalf of the youth plaintiffs, noting that “Montana is the carbon capital of the country” and describing the state’s “statutory double-headed hydra, which on the one hand explicitly promotes increasing development and utilization of our massive coal resources, oil, and gas, and on the other hand, facilitates defendants’ willful blindness to Montana’s contribution to the climate crisis in violation of Montana’s constitution.”
February 24: OCT Files Intervention Brief in Support of Portuguese Youth Plaintiffs
Our Children’s Trust attorneys sought to intervene on behalf of the six young Portuguese citizens who are taking 33 countries to the European Court of Human Rights for contributing to the climate catastrophe in violation of their human rights. While the court denied this brief, it was another example of how OCT attorneys support, advise, and collaborate with climate litigators - and youth plaintiffs - around the world.
march 2021
March 9: Juliana Youth File Motion to Amend Their Complaint
Following a February decision by the Ninth Circuit court of Appeals that the Court lacked the authority to order the federal government to prepare a climate recovery plan, OCT attorneys for the youth plaintiffs filed a motion to amend their complaint, focusing first on winning a declaratory judgment that the nation’s fossil fuel-based energy system is unconstitutional.
March 10: Aji P. v. State of Washington Youth Plaintiffs File Appeal with Washington Supreme Court
Our Children’s Trust attorneys for 13 young plaintiffs in Aji P. v. State of Washington filed a petition for review with the Washington State Supreme Court to get their constitutional climate change case heard in court. This followed a February 2021 ruling by the Washington State Court of Appeals where - despite acknowledging that “the right to a stable environment should be fundamental,” that “climate change poses a very serious threat to the future stability of our environment,” and that “the federal and state governments must act now to address climate change” - the court found that the case presented a political question rather than one that should be decided in a courtroom.
april 2021
April 22: Congressional Resolution Reintroduced in Support of Juliana Youth
On Earth Day, a concurrent resolution was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to protect the fundamental rights of children to a safe and stable climate. The Children’s Fundamental Rights and Climate Recovery Resolution recognizes that the current climate crisis disproportionately affects the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, and demands that the United States develop a national, comprehensive, science-based, and just climate recovery plan to meet necessary emissions reduction targets. The resolution also supports the principles underpinning Juliana v. U.S. Recognizing the climate crisis and fundamental rights of the nation’s children were Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR); Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09); Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07); Congressman Bobby L. Rush (IL-01). They were joined by nine Senators and 43 Representatives as original co-sponsors.
In the days leading up to Earth Day, young people from across the country came together to support the resolution’s reintroduction by participating in virtual meetings co-hosted by Our Children’s Trust, 350.org and the National Children’s Campaign. Their mission was to urge members of Congress to recognize their constitutional rights to a safe climate system and demand climate recovery planning.
may 2021
May 3: La Rose Youth File Written Argument in Canada’s Federal Court of Appeals
Supported by Our Children’s Trust, Canadian attorneys of record for the La Rose youth plaintiffs filed their written argument in Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal, appealing an October 2020 Motions Judge decision that struck their claims. The plaintiffs argued that the decision serves to insulate government action that causes climate change from effective judicial scrutiny, meaning that both the Court and Constitution have no role to play in addressing government conduct that the government itself acknowledges is causing severe harm to children and youth across Canada. The youth are now awaiting a date for oral argument.
May 13: U.S. District Court Judge Orders Settlement Discussions in Juliana v. U.S.
U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken ordered Our Children’s Trust attorneys for Juliana youth plaintiffs and attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice to convene for a settlement conference with Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Coffin. Noting that complex issues like the climate crisis will take all three branches of government to resolve, Judge Aiken told the parties that they should take advantage of the opportunity to work with the highly experienced settlement judge. The court emphasized that this was not a “ministerial step,” but an expectation that the parties bring decision-makers and their best efforts forward to see if there can be a court-supported resolution of the case.
june 2021
June 4: The First of Three New Climate Cases Filed in Mexico
Inspired by the youth plaintiffs of Jóvenes v. Gobierno de México, 17 young adults living in La Paz, launched a climate lawsuit in the District Court in Mexico City. Represented by the attorneys at Defensa Ambiental del Noroeste (DAN) (who also represent the youth in Jóvenes), and supported by Centro de Energía Renovable y Calidad Ambiental (CERCA) and Our Children’s Trust, their case, Acción Por El Clima La Paz, was admitted to the court on October 20, 2021 and is awaiting a hearing date.
June 8: Republican Attorneys General from 17 States Attempt to Intervene in Juliana
Republican attorneys general from 17 states (later joined by an 18th Republican Attorney General) asked to insert themselves into the Juliana v. U.S. case in an attempt to oppose any proposed settlement and stop the youths’ case from proceeding to trial. The proposed intervenors said they wanted to “participate in settlement negotiations” even though they would “object to any proposed settlement” in order to fight President Biden’s climate agenda.
June 14: Second and Third Climate Cases Filed in Mexico
Two additional climate cases, with plaintiffs represented by the attorneys at Defensa Ambiental del Noroeste (DAN), were filed in Mexico. In Acción Por El Clima Baja California Sur, seven young adults who live in four municipalities throughout Baja California Sur launched a climate lawsuit in the District Court of La Paz. Their case was admitted to the court on July 21, 2021 and is awaiting a hearing date. In Acción Por El Clima Baja California Sur Generaciones Futuras, 23 youths who live in La Paz filed a climate lawsuit in the District Court in Mexico City. Their case was admitted to the court on October 20, 2021 and is awaiting a hearing date. Both cases are also supported by Centro de Energía Renovable y Calidad Ambiental (CERCA) and Our Children’s Trust.
June 21: Public Comment Submitted to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases
Alongside 87 fellow leading climate groups, Our Children’s Trust attorneys submitted public comment to the OMB on a draft technical support document on the social cost of greenhouse gases. This was covered in a media piece by Bloomberg and, as noted in the article, there are indications that OCT’s comment is likely to have an impact on OMB’s final technical support document given the interagency panel’s indication that a lower discount rate is “strongly suggest[ed]” by recent data.
June 24: Amicus Briefs Filed in Support of Aji P. v. State of Washington
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Fred. T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, the League of Women Voters, the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, and Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide were among several entities that filed “friend of the court” briefs in support of the 13 young plaintiffs seeking to have their case heard by the Washington Supreme Court.
June 25: Oral Arguments Held in Juliana v. United States
In the midst of an historic heatwave that saw temperatures in Oregon reach as high as 117 degrees, attorneys for the Juliana youth plaintiffs and attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice held remote oral arguments in front of U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken. Supporters around the world listened as Judge Aiken stated that she was “keenly aware of the issues brought here today” and that, before issuing her ruling, she planned to study a recently released United Nations IPCC draft report that said the worst is yet to come in the climate crisis that will affect “our children’s and grandchildren’s lives much more than our own.” (Julia Olson’s opening remarks can be read in full here .)
july 2021
July 7: Six Democrat Attorneys General and the NRDC File Amicus Briefs In Opposition to Republican Attorneys General Intervention Effort
Amicus briefs from Attorney General Letitia James of New York - also signed by the Attorneys General for Delaware, Hawai‘i, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont - and the NRDC were filed in support of Juliana v. U.S. and in opposition to the attempted intervention by 18 Republican Attorneys General. In their amici curiae motion, the six Democrat-led states noted that the wide-ranging effects of climate change — “including the costs of combating rising sea levels, health risks posed by rising temperatures, and threats to States’ food and water supplies, among others — implicate far broader quasi-sovereign interests in the health and well-being of state residents than those noted by proposed intervenors.”
July 7: Yard Sign Campaign Launched in Support of Juliana v. U.S.
A new yard sign campaign was launched to show public support for and solidarity with the Juliana youth plaintiffs. Signs are available to download and hundreds of physical signs were delivered to supporters in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon where the U.S. District Court heard oral arguments.
July 29: Allied Organizations and Experts Sought Intervenor Status in La Rose v. Her Majesty the Queen
Seven organizations filed for intervenor status in support of the 15 Canadian youth plaintiffs in La Rose v. Her Majesty the Queen. Human rights experts, legal scholars, Indigenous communities, and environmental advocates highlighted the constitutional significance of the case and urged the court to allow the case to proceed to trial. Briefs were filed by For Our Kids (“Pour Nos Enfants”), the Arctic Athabaskan Council, Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Friends of the Earth (Les Ami(e)s de la Terre), Ecojustice, and British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA).
august 2021
August 4: Montana Youth Secure Victory and Are Headed to Trial!
Judge Kathy Seeley advanced the 16 youths’ constitutional climate case, Held v. State of Montana, to trial over the state’s objections, denying the state’s motion to dismiss. Judge Seeley, in allowing the case to proceed to trial on the constitutionality of Montana’s fossil fuel energy policies, recognized that the youth plaintiffs are experiencing significant impacts from the climate crisis, including economic, cultural, physical, and mental health injuries. She also ruled that the plaintiffs can sue the state over its aggressive expansion of the fossil fuel industry, a substantial contributor to the climate crisis. This will be the first constitutional climate trial in U.S. history.
August 25: “They Knew: The US Federal Government’s Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis”
James Gustave Speth - former Chair of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality during the Carter Administration and an expert witness in Juliana v. U.S. - published a damning new exposé which proves that presidential administrations from Carter to Trump possessed conclusive data on the apocalyptic approach of a climate crisis caused by fossil fuels but still chose to ignore that data for decades and increase the aggressive promotion and support of a fossil fuel-based energy system. “They Knew,” published by MIT Press, features a forward written by Juliana attorneys Julia Olson and Philip Gregory and received media and promotional support from Our Children’s Trust. All proceeds from the book go to Our Children’s Trust to support new and active climate litigation on behalf of children around the world.
October 2021
October 6: A Weak Decision and a Powerful Dissent in Aji P. v. State of Washington
In a 7-2 vote, the Washington State Supreme Court declined to hear the case of 13 young plaintiffs who were seeking to have their constitutional rights protected in the face of the climate crisis in Washington. However, in a powerful dissent, Chief Justice González and Justice Whitener called the case “an opportunity to decide whether Washington’s youth have a right to a stable climate system that sustains human life and liberty. We recite that we believe the children are our future, but we continue actions that could leave them a world with an environment on the brink of ruin and no mechanism to assert their rights or the rights of the natural world. This is our legacy to them described in the self-congratulatory words of judicial restraint. Today, the court declined the important responsibility to seriously examine their claims.”
These dissents from Chief Justice González and Justice Whitener join the many other American state and federal district, circuit, and Supreme court judges and justices who have accepted this responsibility, including Kathy Seeley, Ann Aiken, Martha Walters, Hollis Hill, Gisela Triana, Josephine Staton, Terry Fox, and JoAnn Vogt, all of whom found that these youth climate cases are appropriate for judicial resolution.
november 2021
November 1: Settlement Talks in Juliana v. U.S. Conclude Without Resolution
Five months of settlement talks between the 21 Juliana youth plaintiffs and attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice ended without resolution. Despite good faith efforts on the part of the youth plaintiffs, they and their attorneys saw no reason to continue to pursue settlement discussions until decision-makers for the federal defendants came to the settlement table. The youth asked the district court to rule on the motion to amend their complaint that the youth filed in March so they can proceed to trial to protect their human rights to a climate that sustains life.
November 16: Youth in Florida Launch New Petition for Rulemaking to Set Goal of 100% Renewable Energy by 2050
Supported by attorneys from Our Children’s Trust, four of the youth plaintiffs from Reynolds v. State of Florida launched a campaign to file a new petition for rulemaking, asking the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to establish a goal to increase renewable energy in Florida to 100% by 2050. This petition for rulemaking will be filed in January 2022 following a two month statewide campaign to urge all young Floridians under the age of 25 to join the petition. In May, the First District Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Reynolds v. State of Florida in a per curiam affirmance without a written opinion. This new petition for rulemaking campaign is the next phase of legal action led by Reynolds youth plaintiffs, which may also include future cases in Florida.
Members of Congress Send Letters to President Biden and 165+ Organizations Join Letter to DOJ in Support of Children’s Rights to a Safe Climate and Juliana Plaintiffs
More than 165 organizations joined a letter to the Department of Justice - delivered by Bill McKibben and Jerome Foster II - urging them to end their opposition to the Juliana v. U.S. case from proceeding to trial. In addition, nearly 50 members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives - led by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chair of the Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Representative Mondaire Jones (D-NY), Vice-chair of the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Committee on the Judiciary - sent letters to President Biden expressing their support for the fundamental rights of children to a safe climate and the Juliana plaintiffs.
december 2021
Developing Constitutional Climate Cases in New U.S. States
Throughout 2021, the legal team at Our Children’s Trust made significant progress on new case development, preparing to file new constitutional climate lawsuits in the new year in Virginia , Hawai’i , and Utah . Attorneys are now in the process of finalizing plaintiff teams (so, if you know a young person in one of these states who might want to pursue claims against their government’s action causing the climate crisis, have them contact us here !)
Stay tuned for these new cases to be filed in 2022…
Global Victories in Global Courts
Our Children’s Trust has spent many years collaborating and consulting with fellow attorneys around the globe on rights-based climate litigation and, in 2021, several of these cases reached positive conclusions, including lawsuits in Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Australia. Not only did Our Children’s Trust celebrate those victories with our colleagues worldwide but these court decisions also build the necessary judicial precedents for the responsibility of governments to uphold and protect human rights, children’s rights, and climate justice.
More than 15 Public Comments Submitted to Federal Government in 2021
In 2021, the legal team at Our Children’s Trust submitted more than 15 public comments to federal agencies and advisory councils, including the EPA, CEQ, Bureau of Land Management/Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, FERC, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, and the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court.These public comments provided our expert recommendations - informed by the constitutional obligations of these agencies, the rights of youth, and the science that must guide the decision-making of these government entities - on national greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) provisions, the social cost of greenhouse gases, the federal oil and gas leasing program, the federal coal program, certification of new interstate natural gas facilities, and environmental justice initiatives.
Media Coverage in National, International, and Regional Press in 2021
Throughout 2021, Our Children’s Trust, the youth plaintiffs we represent and support, and their groundbreaking climate litigation was featured in press coverage by a number of high profile print, radio, television, and podcast media outlets in the United States and around the world, including Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, ABC News, CBC News, The New Yorker, The Hill, The Guardian, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Televisa, Bloomberg, E&E, Law360, Nature, Harvard Law Review, Jacobin, Grist, Gizmodo, and Common Dreams. In addition to earned media, several op-eds written by youth plaintiffs, staff, and supporters - from legal scholars to former judges - were published in regional and national publications.
Online Events Throughout the Year
The team at Our Children’s Trust hosted numerous online events for supporters, reporters, and other stakeholders throughout 2021, including online briefings during/after key moments in our youth-led climate litigation, a live online community watch event to accompany oral arguments in Juliana v. U.S. an author event with James Gustave Speth, informal livestreams on social media, and “YOUTH v GOV” film screenings for audiences of new supporters and potential youth plaintiffs in Hawai’i, Virginia, and Utah.
Amplifying and Celebrating “YOUTH v GOV”
In 2021, the feature length documentary by award-winning Director Christi Cooper about the incredible 21 youth plaintiffs in Juliana v. U.S. - “ YOUTH v GOV ” - was featured at numerous film festivals. Several Juliana youth plaintiffs, along with their attorneys at Our Children’s Trust, joined virtual panels hosted by these festivals to discuss their case and the film. “YOUTH v GOV” won several audience and jury awards throughout the year, including the prestigious 2021 Grand Teton Award from Jackson Wild, considered by many to be the Academy Awards of Nature and Conservation films!
looking forward to 2022!
It’s been a very busy 2021 at Our Children’s Trust. And 2022 is poised to be even more active as our constitutional climate cases progress in multiple courts. The planet is continuing to warm and young people around the globe are fiercely fighting for their rights to science-based climate mitigation. We are right there with them, side by side, and will greet the new year with a renewed commitment to demanding the protection of their rights. We hope you’ll be there with us.