Montanaβs Republican legislators fight back after successful youth climate lawsuit
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In the wake of a high-profile court decision that upended the state of Montanaβs climate policy, Republican lawmakers in the state are pushing a suite of bills that could gut the stateβs ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The full-court legislative press targets the stateβs environmental analysis, air quality regulation, and judicial system. It stems from the Held v. Montana case in which 16 young people sued the state over its contributions to climate change, claiming its fossil fuel-centric approach to energy violated the state constitutionβs guarantee of a βclean and healthful environment.β The plaintiffs won, and in December 2024, the Montana Supreme Court upheld their victory.
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