The Montana Supreme Court handed a win to youth challengers on Wednesday, upholding a stable climate as an intrinsic part of the state’s constitutional rights to a healthy environment.
The decision affirms a lower court ruling that struck down two statutes, including one that would have prevented consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in project permitting.
The state high court further set in stone affirmative environmental rights enshrined by the framers of its constitution—authors which Montana argued could not have meant climate change degradation in their original intent.
“We concluded that the Framers’ intent was to provide environmental protections which are ...