{"id":22943,"date":"2024-12-20T18:14:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T18:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=805685"},"modified":"2024-12-20T18:14:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T18:14:47","slug":"global-warming-cant-be-ignored-montanas-top-court-says-upholding-landmark-climate-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2024\/12\/20\/global-warming-cant-be-ignored-montanas-top-court-says-upholding-landmark-climate-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Warming Can\u2019t Be Ignored, Montana\u2019s Top Court Says, Upholding Landmark Climate Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-default-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2024\/12\/20\/805685.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2024\/12\/20\/805685.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>Montana\u2019s Supreme Court upheld a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents\u2019 constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming.<\/p>\n<p>The justices, in a 6-1 ruling, rejected the state\u2019s argument that greenhouse gases released from Montana fossil fuel projects are minuscule on a global scale and reducing them would have no effect on climate change, likening it to asking: \u201cIf everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"climate-change\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2024\/07\/10\/783153.htm\">Montana To Ask State Top Court To Overturn Landmark Climate Ruling<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The plaintiffs can enforce their environmental rights \u201cwithout requiring everyone else to stop jumping off bridges or adding fuel to the fire,\u201d Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote for the majority. \u201cOtherwise the right to a clean and healthful environment is meaningless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Only a few other states, including Hawaii, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York, have similar environmental protections enshrined in their constitutions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/national\/2023\/08\/14\/735318.htm\">Montana Youth Climate Activists Get Historic Win in State Case<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit filed in 2020 by 16 Montanans \u2014who are now ages 7 to 23 \u2014 was considered a breakthrough in attempts by young environmentalists and their attorneys to use the courts to leverage action on climate change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,\u201d lead plaintiff Rikki Held said in a statement Wednesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"climate-change\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2023\/06\/12\/724837.htm\">Youth Environmentalists Bring Montana Climate Case to Trial After 12 Years<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During the 2023 trial in state District Court, the young plaintiffs described how climate change profoundly affects their lives: worsening wildfires foul the air they breathe, while drought and decreased snowpack deplete rivers that sustain farming, fish, wildlife and recreation and affect Native traditions.<\/p>\n<p>Going forward, Montana must \u201ccarefully assess the greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts of all future fossil fuel permits,\u201d said Melissa Hornbein, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center and attorney for the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said the state was still reviewing the decision, but warned of \u201cperpetual lawsuits that will waste taxpayer dollars and drive up energy bills for hardworking Montanans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis decision does nothing more than declare open season on Montana\u2019s all-of-the-above approach to energy,\u201d he said, which promotes using both fossil fuels and renewables.<\/p>\n<p>A day earlier, Gianforte held meetings on how the state can increase energy production, which involved energy suppliers, large energy consumers, public utility companies, transmission stakeholders and legislators.<\/p>\n<p>Incoming Senate President Matt Regier and House Speaker Brandon Ler, both Republicans, joined Gianforte in alleging the justices were overstepping their authority and had strayed into making policy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJudicial reform was already a top priority for Republican lawmakers,\u201d Regier and Ler said, warning the justices to \u201cbuckle up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Montana courts have blocked or overturned numerous laws passed by Republicans in the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions as being unconstitutional, including laws to limit access to abortion.<\/p>\n<p>In seeking to overturn the District Court ruling, the state had argued the plaintiffs should be required to challenge individual fossil fuel development permits as they\u2019re issued \u2014 which would have involved trying to challenge even smaller amounts of emissions.<\/p>\n<p>Carbon dioxide, which is released when fossil fuels are burned, traps heat in the atmosphere and is largely responsible for the warming of the climate. June brought record warm global temperatures for the 13th straight month, according to European climate service Copernicus. The streak ended in July.<\/p>\n<p>Montana\u2019s Constitution requires agencies to \u201cmaintain and improve\u201d a clean environment. A law signed by Gianforte last year said environmental reviews may not consider climate impacts unless the federal government makes carbon dioxide a regulated pollutant. The Montana Supreme Court\u2019s ruling found that law to be unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<div class=\"copyright-notice lite\">Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/climate-change\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Climate Change<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"805685\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.<\/p>\n<p> <textarea placeholder=\"Enter your feedback...\"><\/textarea> <button type=\"submit\" class=\"submit\" disabled>Submit<\/button> <button class=\"cancel\">No Thanks<\/button> <\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-yes\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! <span class=\"percent\"><\/span>% of people found this article valuable. 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