Youth Climate Rights Case Makes Lasting Mark Despite Near Defeat

The landmark youth climate lawsuit that spanned three presidential administrations may be nearing its end while similar cases in the US and globally pick up the mantle.

The 21 young plaintiffs of Juliana v. US have been fighting for their climate rights case since 2015, weathering a court system that was ultimately unfriendly toward their novel constitutional claims. Still, Juliana continues to inspire similar creative uses of constitutional and rights-based climate legal work, according to Nikki Reisch, the director of the Center for International Environmental Law’s climate and energy program.

“Juliana was groundbreaking when it ...