The Montana Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in the Held v. Montana case on July 10, 2024. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)
The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a district court ruling in the nation’s first constitutional climate change trial , affirming that the youth plaintiffs have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment” while revoking two Montana statutes.
The 70-page decision, authored by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, comes 16 months after Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled in the landmark Held v. Montana lawsuit, explicitly stating that the state’s greenhouse gas emissions are “proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment, and harm and injury to the youth plaintiffs.” Seeley’s decision also rolled back two laws enacted by the 2023 legislature that changed the Montana Environmental Policy Act.
The state immediately appealed the decision to the Montana Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the appeal in July. The court found in a 6-1 decision that Montana’s constitutional guarantee of a “clean and healthful environment” includes a stable climate system, “which is clearly within the object and true principles of the Framers inclusion of the right.”
In addition, the order found that “Montanans’ right to a clean and healthful environment was violated by the MEPA Limitation, which precluded an analysis of GHG emissions in environmental assessments and environmental impact statements during MEPA review,” the order states.
The six-justice majority found law which limited analysis of greenhouse gas emissions during environmental reviews is unconstitutional and enjoined the state from acting on it.
Justice Jim Rice dissented.
The Daily Montanan has contacted the governor’s office, state agencies, legislative leadership and the plaintiffs for comment on the decision. Many of them said they were reviewing the decision and would provide a response later Wednesday.
Editor’s note: This is a developing news story and will be updated.