Pirate's Cove

They want to try and shut down the potential settlement, which has no place going through the courts

Montana and 16 other states want in on Youth Climate Change lawsuit

Montana and 16 other states are asking to intervene in the Youth Climate Change lawsuit, an attempt by 21 youth activists to address climate change by compelling the federal government to transition away from fossil fuels.

In a brief filed last week, the states argue they’ll be impacted by a settlement discussion between the plaintiffs and the federal government scheduled for later this month, and say they don’t trust President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice to represent states’ interests.

Juliana v. United States was first filed six years ago on behalf of young climate activists who petitioned the federal government to phase out fossil fuel emissions and draw down atmospheric carbon dioxide.

In January 2020, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the government on one of the lawsuit’s key claims, concluding that the remedy plaintiffs want requires complex policy decisions better handled by elected officials and voters than by the judicial branch. In response, the plaintiffs, now age 13 to 24, amended the complaint to focus on declaratory relief — recognition that their rights have been harmed without naming specific remedies for those harms.

The case is back before the U.S. District Court of Oregon in Eugene. Ann Aiken, the judge assigned to the case, recently directed the plaintiffs and the government to participate in a settlement conference, a first for the case.

Instead of the kiddies giving up their own use of fossil fuels and convincing the rest of their cult to do the same, they seek to have their Beliefs imposed on everyone via the court system, and it seems that the China Joe admin is happy to help them.

The states seeking to intervene argue that they have a stake in the country’s energy future, and that a settlement granting the plaintiffs’ demands would lead to higher energy prices for the states and their citizens.

One question would be “does the federal government have the constitutional power to do any of this?” They could certainly regulate intrastate shipping of fossil fuels, but, what if these states drilled and kept it in state? That’s actually an argument used for the states legalizing marijuana. Does the federal government, even via passing a law, have the power to do away with fossil fuels across the nation? Highly doubtful.