HELENA, Mont. � Whether a constitutional right to a healthy, livable climate is protected by state law is at the center of a lawsuit going to trial Monday in Montana, where 16 young plaintiffs and their attorneys hope to set an important legal precedent.
Plaintiffs Mica, 14; Badge, 15; Lander, 18; and Taleah, 19, listen to arguments during a status hearing May 12 in Helena, Mont., for a case that they and other Montana youth filed against the state arguing Montana officials are not meeting their constitutional obligations to protect residents from climate change.Â
Thom Bridge, Independent Record via AP
It's the first trial of its kind in the U.S., and legal scholars around the world are following its potential addition to the small number of rulings that have established a government duty to protect citizens from climate change.
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