Monday marked the start of a two-week, youth-led climate case in Montana — the first of its kind to go to trial in the nation.
The 16 kids say the state is violating their right to a clean and healthful environment by promoting fossil fuel production.
Plaintiffs opened their case by showing the big picture impacts of climate change. They called on Nobel Peace Prize-winning climate scientist Dr. Steven Running.
“As that summertime gets longer, this is when our growing season droughts get worse,” Running testified. “And then, the final thing is when wildfires get more wild than we've ever seen.”
17-year-old Eva Lighthiser from Livingston shared how she feels living through hotter, smokier summers.
“You know, it gives me a sore throat, sometimes a runny nose,” Lighthiser said. “It’s not only physical impacts, it’s also mental impacts. Having all that haze in the air is really heavy and it just weighs you down; it depresses you”
The plaintiffs are asking the state to drastically reduce carbon emissions.
Lawyers for the state in their opening statements said the case is predicated on laws that no longer exist after lawmakers in the most recent legislative session repealed the state’s energy policy.
