In a remarkable ruling, a court in the US state of Montana has sided with a group of children and young people and their constitutional right to a clean environment and a healthy climate, reports New York Times.

The judge at the district court, Kathy Seeley, agrees with the young people that the state has violated its constitutional rights by not considering the climate and environmental consequences when granting licenses for, among other things, coal and gas extraction.

The decision may set a precedent for similar cases elsewhere in the US.

The 16 plaintiffs, who filed the case in 2020 when they were between the ages of 2 and 18, claimed that the state’s policies exacerbated the climate crisis.

They argued - and were successful - that it violated a 1972 amendment to the Montana Constitution. It required the state to protect and promote a healthier environment.

Montana is located in the western United States. It is a large state in area, but with a small population.

The young plaintiffs argued that the proportional carbon footprint of the state is far too high.

”This is a great victory for Montana, for youth, for democracy and for our climate,” says Julia Olson, head of Our Childrens Trust, an organization that helped sue the state.

According to Reuters, a spokesperson for the Montana Department of Justice called the court’s decision ”absurd” and accused Kathy Seeley of being an ”ideological judge who allowed the case to go forward”.

Montana is a conservative state governed by Republicans.

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Simon Øst Vejbæk)