- New York Jets fire head coach Saleh: team
- Australia crush New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup
- US states accuse TikTok of harming young users
- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- US Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to 'ghost guns' regulation
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
RIO | -4.64% | 66.535 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.36% | 24.66 | $ | |
NGG | 0.62% | 65.89 | $ | |
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.29% | 6.97 | $ | |
SCS | -0.38% | 12.901 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.24% | 24.849 | $ | |
BTI | -0.04% | 35.185 | $ | |
BCC | -0.58% | 140.46 | $ | |
BCE | -0.52% | 33.355 | $ | |
GSK | -1.46% | 38.075 | $ | |
RELX | 1.11% | 46.555 | $ | |
VOD | -0.47% | 9.645 | $ | |
JRI | 0% | 13.18 | $ | |
AZN | -0.13% | 76.77 | $ | |
BP | -3.53% | 32.01 | $ |
Verdict awaited in historic US climate trial
A verdict is awaited in a landmark US climate trial involving 16 young people accusing the state of Montana of violating their rights to a "clean and healthful environment."
Held v. Montana, which concluded Tuesday, has been closely watched as it could bolster similar litigation that has been filed across the country.
It is the first case involving a constitutional claim against a state, and also represents a rare instance in which climate experts have been questioned on the witness stand.
Judge Kathy Seeley, who oversaw the trial in the state capital Helena, instructed lawyers for both sides to file post-trial written submissions within two weeks, after which she would render her verdict.
She has the power to declare as unconstitutional a state law preventing agencies from considering the impacts of greenhouse gasses when issuing permits for fossil fuel development.
Earlier, a large group of supporters waved placards and cheered the plaintiffs and their lawyers as they entered the courthouse, according to footage seen on social media.
- Closing arguments -
At the heart of the case is a provision within the fossil fuel friendly state's constitution that says: "The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations."
The youths, ranging in age from five up to 22, have said they have been harmed by the "dangerous impacts of fossil fuels and the climate crisis," with children "uniquely vulnerable" to its worsening impacts.
During his closing arguments, the plaintiffs' lawyer Nate Bellinger, of the nonprofit Our Children's Trust, said his clients "did not ask for money, but they asked only that their government embrace its constitutional responsibility to alleviate the harms of its own conduct."
While Montana argues climate change is a global issue, the plaintiffs "localized this harm in their backyards of felled, diseased trees; the melting of Montana's majestic glaciers; ...skies that are full of choking smoke, and rivers that run dry."
"The plaintiffs acknowledge that the work to stop and reverse climate change will be a lifetime journey, but they are asking this court for help," he said.
Montana Assistant Attorney General Michael Russell on the other hand argued that the matter of energy policy should be decided by the people, through their representatives in the legislature.
"This case has received national attention in part because it has been billed or at least perceived as a sort of referendum on climate change. This is not supposed to be a town hall meeting or a popularity contest, it's a court of law," he added.
Russell said that while the state accepted that man-made emissions were responsible for warming, expert witnesses for the prosecution had not been able to quantify the extent to which Montana's laws were responsible for impacts on the ground.
- 'Compelling stories' -
The trial began on June 12 and concluded a few days earlier than expected after Montana declined to call to the stand several experts, including its only climate scientist, Judith Curry.
Curry has contested the scientific consensus on climate change, declaring for example "there's no emergency."
Over the course of proceedings, the court heard direct and emotional testimony from the plaintiffs about specific ways their health, emotional wellbeing, family finances and cultural traditions had been impacted.
Lead plaintiff Rikki Held, 22, whose family runs a ranch in Montana, said that their livelihoods and wellbeing had been increasingly impacted by wildfires, extreme temperatures and drought.
Claire Vlases, 20, said: "When I think about summer, I think about smoke. It sounds like a dystopian movie, but it's real life."
Lawyers for the plaintiffs also called renowned climate, health and psychiatry experts to testify.
These included eminent climatologist Steve Running, who was part of the UN body that won a Nobel prize in 2007.
Michael Gerrard, who founded the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, told AFP the plaintiffs lawyers "did a wonderful job presenting and giving a human face to the case by having all these young people tell their own personal compelling stories."
Should the judge find in their favor, "we've seen in other cases that a favorable verdict in one jurisdiction can have a reverberating effect in many other places," said Gerrard. "It would be very energizing to young people and activists around the country."
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN