A state judge in Montana gave climate activists a decisive win on Monday when she ruled that the state's support of fossil fuels violates their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.
District Court Judge Kathy Seeley struck down as unconstitutional a state policy barring consideration of the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions in fossil fuel permitting. Her ruling establishes legal protection against broad harms caused by climate change and enshrines a state right to a world free from those harms, creating a potential foundation for future lawsuits across the country.
