In brief
The Supreme Court has officially closed the chapter on the landmark climate change lawsuit known as Juliana v. United States, which was initiated by 21 young plaintiffs claiming their constitutional rights were infringed upon by the government’s fossil fuel policies.
The case took ten years to navigate through the judicial system, but ultimately the Court dismissed the opportunity to hear an appeal, signaling the end of its judicial journey. The Ninth Circuit Court previously ruled that climate-related grievances such as these should be addressed by political avenues rather than the judiciary, with Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz articulating in 2020 that the case was not a matter for the courts. Despite the case's dismissal, it has served as a foundation for other climate litigation, inspiring several lawsuits that have emerged since. The nonprofit law group Our Children’s Trust, which represented the young plaintiffs, made a final appeal to the Supreme Court to allow for the case to proceed in a lower court, but this request was denied on Monday. Some experts have expressed concerns that pushing the Supreme Court for a review could lead to unfavorable outcomes that jeopardize existing environmental legal protections, especially given the current conservative composition of the Court.
