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Article

7 Mar 2018

Author:
Natasha Geiling, Think Progress (USA)

Federal court denies Trump’s last-ditch attempt to derail the youth climate lawsuit

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A federal court has denied the Trump administration’s last-ditch effort to prevent a landmark climate lawsuit from going to trial...The case brought by 21 children and young adults against the federal government for its role in perpetuating climate change has been making its way through the court system since 2015...[T]he Trump administration tried to get it dismissed...  The Ninth Circuit...disagreed...that the trial would place an undue burden on the defendants because of the massive amount of discovery likely associated with the process...If the case proceeds to trial, it will be the first time that the federal government has faced allegations of violating Constitutional rights due to its climate policies.  The lawsuit is based on...atmospheric trust litigation, which takes the doctrine of the public trust...and applies it to the atmosphere.  By failing to preserve the atmosphere for future generations — and by engaging in policies that actively undermine climate stability, like fossil fuel subsidies — the lawsuit argues that the government has violated its obligation to the public trust.  The lawsuit also argues that the government has violated the plaintiffs’ right to due process...

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