The federal judge who in 2016 cleared a constitutional climate case for trial in Eugene has reiterated her position that the youth-led matter should be decided in court.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken on Monday issued a long-awaited decision that keeps intact the central claims of a lawsuit that asserts the federal government’s policies regarding the use of fossil fuels are contributing to global warming and violating the rights of 21 youth plaintiffs who first sued the government in 2015. The plaintiffs, six of whom are from Eugene, are between the ages of 11 and 22.
Aiken’s ruling — issued in response to a pair of government requests filed earlier this year that sought to resolve the case in its favor prior to trial — keeps the case on track for trial in Eugene starting Oct. 29. The government, however, has asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to halt proceedings while it prepares to ask the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit.
The lawsuit originally was filed against the Obama administration. President Trump’s name was substituted for Obama’s in 2017, but Aiken on Monday dismissed him as a defendant in the case. The dismissal was “without prejudice,” meaning that the plaintiffs could again bring claims against him in the future.
Aiken, for the most part, denied the government’s requests in the decision issued Monday, but she did dismiss what she called a “freestanding” claim in the suit that asserted the government’s actions have violated the Ninth Amendment.
But the suit’s main claims — that the federal government’s policy on fossil fuel use deprives the plaintiffs of their rights to life, liberty and property without due process of law; discriminates against young people who will disproportionately be impacted by a destabilized climate system; and fails to meet obligations to hold natural resources in trust for the benefit of all citizens — remain intact.
“The District Court continues to provide well-reasoned decisions that narrow and appropriately frame the heart of this case for trial,” one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, Julia Olson of Eugene, said Monday.
The lawsuit asserts the federal government has known for more than 50 years that carbon dioxide produced by burning of fossil fuels is causing dangerous climate change, but despite that knowledge has continued to promote the use of those fuels.
The suit seeks a court order requiring the government to prepare and implement an “enforceable national remedial plan” to phase out fossil fuel emissions and draw down carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in order to stabilize the climate system and protect natural resources.
The government repeatedly has tried to get the case dismissed, and on Friday asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to suspend case proceedings pending the resolution of a petition for Supreme Court review that is expected to be filed Wednesday.
Sean Duffy, a Department of Justice attorney representing the government in the case, declined to respond to a question about whether the government, in light of Aiken’s decision, still intends to seek Supreme Court review, but said he had forwarded the query to a department spokesman, who did not immediately provide comment.
Both the appeals court and the Supreme Court previously have declined to intervene in the case.
