On Thursday, November 10th a district court in Oregon ruled in favor of a group of youth climate activists and climate scientist James Hansen. Their motion was to secure the right to hold the government accountable for failing to protect future generations from the effects of climate change. The bedrock of the successful case was that the government had knowledge for decades that greenhouse gas emissions were causing climate change and yet they did nothing to stay carbon pollution. This win means that their lawsuit and similar ones around the country can proceed to attempt to hold the government and energy companies accountable for climate change’s ill effects. The decision makes a stand for holding those in power accountable for the resources they hold in trust. This language could hold more change in store for the way land trust administration is handled in the future. Read the full decision here, and coverage of the case here.
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