Members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives
expressed their support for the fundamental rights of children to a safe climate and the young
Americans in the landmark children’s constitutional climate case, Juliana v. United States. On
June 1, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken, of the U.S. District Court in Oregon, granted
the young plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint, putting their case back on track to trial.
The 21 youth plaintiffs, including 11 Black, Brown, and Indigenous youth, have waited almost
eight years after facing incessant and unprecedented efforts by the U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) to delay and dismiss their case. The Juliana case was one of the most significant targets
of the Trump administration’s “shadow docket” - a tactic wherein cases are decided without full
briefing or oral argument, and without any written opinion. Now, barring continued attempts by
the DOJ to delay the case, the youth will finally be able to move forward to trial on the question
of whether the federal government’s fossil fuel-based energy system, and resulting climate
destabilization, is unconstitutional.
Members of Congress stand in solidarity with the Juliana youth plaintiffs. Following the
ruling, members of Congress issued public statements of support for the youth plaintiffs and this
week participated in a Tweetstorm to continue to show their commitment to the youth, their
rights to a safe, livable climate, and their right to go to trial. Supporting access to justice for our
children, the members encourage the Biden administration to fulfill his promise to work with our
youth and protect them from the harms of the climate crisis.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chairman of the Senate Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee and Chairman of the Chemical Safety, Waste
Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Environment and Public Works
Subcommittee, shared, “BIG NEWS: The #YouthVGov case will finally proceed to trial! This
remarkable group of young people who are demanding their right to a healthy planet and future
have my full support.” Read his June 3, 2023, tweet here and June 6, 2023, tweet here.
“Twenty-one youth have waited almost eight years to get a ruling on their lawsuit demanding
their constitutional right to a safe climate be protected. And yesterday, we welcomed news that
they are finally being granted their right to go to trial,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
(IL-09), a Chief Deputy Whip and Ranking Member on the House Innovation, Data, and
Commerce Energy and Commerce Subcommittee. “These young people have taken on
incredible responsibility to protect our environment. I will continue to work with my colleagues in
Congress to support them as they continue their fight to protect the right of all to a safe and
habitable climate. Our children and grandchildren should not have to fear for the future of their
environment and our world as we know it.” Read her June 2, 2023, press statement here and
tweet here.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Budget Committee, Chairman of the
Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, & Federal Rights Judiciary Subcommittee, and
member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, stated, “All of us have a responsibility
to leave the next generation a healthy and hospitable planet. The window of opportunity to
address climate change is still open, but we must follow the lead of our children and
grandchildren to take action today. I’m proud to stand alongside Our Children’s Trust and young
people across this country as we fight for a safer climate future.” He also tweeted his support on
June 6, 2023, here.
“Today, I'm proudly standing with @youthvgov + Juliana plaintiffs as they fight to protect their
constitutional right to a safe climate. Let's get climate justice out of the shadows & off the
shadow docket,” stated Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16), member of the Judiciary
Committee and Deputy Whip of Congressional Progressive Caucus. Read her June 6, 2023,
tweet here.
For additional statements of support, including from Senator Wyden and Congressmembers
Jayapal and Tlaib, visit the Juliana statements of support page.
“I spent most of my life living on a barrier island impacted by the climate crisis and nearly half of
my life fighting for climate justice as a plaintiff in this lawsuit,” said the youngest plaintiff in the
Juliana case, 15-year-old Floridian Levi Draheim. “I’m only 15 years old and I have lived
through three major hurricanes and have been evacuated from my home multiple times. I’ve
also experienced years of delay, waiting for my right to be heard in court, due to the actions of
our own DOJ. I’m excited that our case is finally moving forward and grateful that members of
Congress continue to support children’s fundamental rights for youth, like me and my little
sister.” Learn more about Levi and the other 20 Juliana plaintiffs here.
Since the case was filed in 2015, more than 85 lawmakers have rallied behind the Juliana youth
and their right to a safe climate. They joined U.S. Senate and House letters in November 2021
to President Biden expressing support for the fundamental rights of children to a safe climate.
Members stood with the Juliana plaintiffs by cosponsoring the Children’s Fundamental Rights
and Climate Recovery Resolution introduced during the 116th and 117th Congress
(S.Con.Res.8 & H.Con.Res.31) expressing 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. They also signed on to two 2019 and 2020
amicus briefs filed in the Ninth Circuit.
“These young people have a right to access their courts and, after several long years, finally
have their evidence of climate harm caused by their own government–and how to stop it–heard
in open court,” said Julia Olson, lead counsel for the youth plaintiffs. “Attorney General Garland
should treat this like the urgent constitutional case that it is by litigating the case on its merits
and presenting their arguments in the light of day at trial, rather than once again seeking to push
this case into the dark corners of the shadow docket. Members of Congress who continue to
stand in solidarity with these 21 young Americans are sending a clear and urgent message to all
of our nation’s leaders to protect our children’s fundamental rights to a safe climate.”
Plaintiffs intend to seek a prompt trial date so that they and their experts can finally present their
evidence of their government’s active infringement of their constitutional rights.
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
