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Morocco World
a day ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Young Americans Sue Trump Administration Over Climate Policies
Rabat – A group of 22 young people from across the United States have filed a federal lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of violating their constitutional rights by issuing executive orders that expand fossil fuel production, worsening climate change. The lawsuit – 'Youth v. Trump'— was filed last week in the US District Court in Montana. It claims Trump's executive orders knowingly promote policies that increase greenhouse gas pollution, pushing the global climate toward dangerous instability. The case targets three executive orders issued by Trump titled: 'Unleashing American Energy,' 'Declaring a National Energy Emergency,' and 'Reinvigorating America's Beautiful Clean Coal Industry.' The plaintiffs, aged 7 to 25 and living from Montana to Florida, say they've been directly harmed by wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and extreme heat. Some have been displaced from their homes, while a 7-year-old boy identified as J.K., has suffered serious health problems due to respiratory infections worsened by wildfire smoke, leading to multiple hospitalizations. The lawsuit argues that these impacts violate the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to life and liberty, and also break laws meant to protect public health and the environment. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the executive orders unconstitutional, stop their enforcement, and reaffirm legal limits on presidential power. 'From day one of the current administration, President Trump has issued directives to increase fossil fuel use and block the transition to clean energy like wind, solar, batteries, and electric vehicles,' the lawsuit states. It adds that Trump's claim of an energy emergency is false, and that the real emergency is the damage caused by fossil fuel pollution. The young plaintiffs are represented by Our Children's Trust, an Oregon-based legal group known for the 2015 Juliana v. United States case, which argued that the government has long known fossil fuels drive climate change but failed to act. Alongside President Trump, the lawsuit casts a wide net targeting powerful federal agencies and top officials as defendants. Among them are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Transportation, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Also listed are two of the country's leading science institutions — NASA and NOAA — agencies that have long sounded the alarm on climate change but are now accused of contributing to the climate crisis by complying with the harmful executive orders. In a statement for Inside Climate News, the White House dismissed the case as part of 'the left's radical climate agenda,' and said Americans are more focused on economic and national security, which it argues are supported by Trump's efforts to restore US energy dominance. The United States experienced 28 weather and climate disasters in 2024, ranging from severe storms, tropical cyclones, winter storms, floods, drought, heat-waves and wildfires. The 2023 Fifth National Climate Assessment estimated the costs of 'severe weather' at roughly $150 billion each year — a conservative estimate that excludes loss of life, healthcare-related costs and damages to the ecosystem.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Youths sue Trump admin over US climate orders
File photo: US President Donald Trump (Picture credit: AP) WASHINGTON: Twenty-two young Americans sued the Trump administration on Thursday, arguing its executive orders to expand fossil fuel development and dismantle climate protections violate their fundamental rights to life and liberty. The plaintiffs, primarily from Montana, where the case was filed in a federal court, along with others from Hawaii, Oregon, California and Florida, named President Trump and numerous federal agencies in their lawsuit. The case targets executive orders that declared a "National Energy Emergency" and directed agencies to "unleash American energy" by accelerating oil, gas, and coal extraction on public lands while blocking clean energy projects. It argues the administration has unlawfully suppressed public access to federal climate science. "These youth are standing up to challenge the executive orders as violating their rights to life, safety and health," said a lawyer with the nonprofit that brought the case.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
22 young Americans sue Trump on climate actions: ‘A death sentence for my generation'
A group of 22 young Americans sued the Trump administration over executive orders the plaintiffs say will promote climate change. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Montana and challenges executive orders 14156, 14154 and 14261, which declare a 'National Energy Emergency.' The Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NASA are named as defendants in the suit. '[President] Trump's fossil fuel orders are a death sentence for my generation,' plaintiff Eva Lighthiser said. 'I'm not suing because I want to — I'm suing because I have to. My health, my future, and my right to speak the truth are all on the line. He's waging war on us with fossil fuels as his weapon, and we're fighting back with the Constitution,' she added. Lighthiser is joined by youth plaintiffs from Montana, along with others from Hawaii, Oregon, California and Florida. They've alleged that the president's executive orders violate their Fifth Amendment rights to life and liberty by 'deliberately worsening' climate pollution that threatens their health and futures. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has issued orders aimed at expediting energy and infrastructure projects; promoting the use of coal, critical minerals and fossil fuels; and sunsetting EPA regulations that prevent mining and offshore drilling. The White House and corresponding agencies did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. 'Our children enjoy the same constitutional rights to life and liberty as adults, yet have been tasked with shouldering the impact of a destabilized climate system without ever having a say in the matter,' Dan Snyder, director of the Environmental Enforcement Project for Public Justice, said in a Thursday statement. 'President Trump's executive orders are unlawful and intolerable, and these youth plaintiffs shall put an end to it.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
22 young Americans sue Trump on climate actions: ‘A death sentence for my generation'
A group of 22 young Americans are suing the Trump administration over executive orders they say will promote climate change. The lawsuit was filed in Montana on Thursday and challenges Executive Orders 14156, 14154, and 14261, which declare a 'National Energy Emergency.' The Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NASA are named as defendants in the suit. 'Trump's fossil fuel orders are a death sentence for my generation,' said plaintiff Eva Lighthiser. 'I'm not suing because I want to — I'm suing because I have to. My health, my future, and my right to speak the truth are all on the line. He's waging war on us with fossil fuels as his weapon, and we're fighting back with the Constitution,' she added. Lighthiser is joined by other youth plaintiffs from Montana, along with others from Hawaii, Oregon, California and Florida. They've alleged that the president's executive orders violate their Fifth Amendment rights to life and liberty by 'deliberately worsening' climate pollution that threatens their health and futures. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has issued orders aimed at expediting energy and infrastructure projects, promoting the use of coal, critical minerals, and fossil fuels while sunsetting EPA regulations that prevent mining and offshore drilling. The White House and corresponding agencies did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. 'Our children enjoy the same constitutional rights to life and liberty as adults, yet have been tasked with shouldering the impact of a destabilized climate system without ever having a say in the matter,' Dan Snyder, director of the Environmental Enforcement Project for Public Justice, said in a Thursday statement. 'President Trump's executive orders are unlawful and intolerable, and these youth plaintiffs shall put an end to it.'
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Youths sue Trump over US climate orders
A group of 22 young Americans are arguing that executive orders from US President Donald Trump to expand fossil fuel development and dismantle climate protections violate their right to life, safety and health. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - Twenty-two young Americans sued the Trump administration on May 29, arguing that its executive orders to expand fossil fuel development and dismantle climate protections violate their fundamental rights to life and liberty. The plaintiffs – primarily from Montana, where the case was filed in a federal court, along with others from Hawaii, Oregon, California and Florida – named President Donald Trump and numerous federal agencies in their lawsuit. The case targets executive orders that declared a 'National Energy Emergency' and directed agencies to 'unleash American energy' by accelerating oil, gas, and coal extraction on public lands while blocking clean energy projects. It also argues the administration has unlawfully suppressed public access to federal climate science. 'These youth are standing up to challenge those executive orders as violating their rights to life, safety and health,' Ms Andrea Rodgers, a lawyer with the nonprofit Our Children's Trust, which brought the case, told AFP. She added that the lawsuit builds on recent state-level victories. In Montana, a judge ruled in 2023 in favor of youth plaintiffs that government's decision to limit analysis of environmental factors when deciding oil and gas permits violated their right to a clean environment. In Hawaii, a 2024 settlement with youth activists committed the state to accelerate decarbonisation of its transport sector to protect their right to a healthy climate. At the federal level, however, youth-led climate lawsuits have yet to prevail. The most prominent, Juliana versus the US, was filed in 2015 and dismissed in 2024. The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal earlier this year. Ms Rodgers said the new case, Lighthiser versus the US, differs in a key way: while Juliana relied on an implied right to a safe climate, Lighthiser claims an explicit violation of the Fifth Amendment, which says no person shall be deprived of life or liberty without due process of law. Lead plaintiff Eva Lighthiser, 19, from Livingston, Montana, says her life has been disrupted by climate-driven floods that damaged roads and bridges, forcing her family to relocate. Wildfires and heat waves have also affected her health and caused deep anxiety about the future, the complaint adds. Beyond seeking to overturn executive orders that promote fossil fuel drilling, the plaintiffs want to restore congressionally mandated climate science efforts, including the National Climate Assessment. The Trump administration recently dismissed its roughly 400-member author team. Some critics argue these issues should be left to elected officials – not the courts. But Ms Rodgers countered: 'There's really a place for all three branches of government to get involved in resolving the climate crisis.' 'That's not to say the judiciary should set policy – but it must ensure the political branches act within their constitutional lane. That's what we're asking the court to do here.' AFP Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
