This story was originally published in the Guardian, and is reproduced as part of Climate Desk’s collaboration. Eight young people have filed a lawsuit against the government of Alaska, the nation’s fastest warming state, claiming that a major fossil fuel project violates state constitutional rights. The state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation is proposing a $38,7 billion gas export that would triple the state’s current output.
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced these as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Eight young people are suing the government of Alaska—the nation’s fastest-warming state—claiming a big new fossil fuel project violates their state constitutional rights. The state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation has proposed a$ 38. 7 billion gas export project that would almost triple the state’s greenhouse gas emissions for decades, the lawsuit says. Scientists have long warned that fossil fuel extraction must be quickly curbed to secure a sustainable future. The Alaska LNG Project would involve the construction of a gas treatment plant on the state’s North Slope, an 800-mile pipeline and liquefaction plant on the Kenai Peninsula which would prepare the gas for export to Asia. “[ Y]outh plaintiffs are uniquely vulnerable to and disproportionately injured by the climate harms that would result from the Alaska LNG Project, ” the suit says. In an unexpected move in 2014, Alaska passed legislation amending many state laws to direct the state to see the project through. “We’re now seeing large impacts to our ability to provide for our subsistence because of climate change. ” The challengers, grown 11 to 22, argue that the proposal—and that legislation in particular—violates two sections of the Alaska constitution: the right to protected natural resources for “current and future generations, ” and the right to be free from government infringement on life, liberty and property. “The acceleration of climate change that this project will bring will affect what the land provides and brings to my culture, ” said Summer Sagoonick, the 22-year-old lead plaintiff in the case and a member the Iñupiaq tribe. “ I am counting on the courts to protect my rights. ” The Alaska attorney general, Treg Taylor, said his office would be reviewing the lawsuit properly and called it a “misguided effort. ” “On its face, we can see that it is an attempt to block the development of Alaska’s natural gas reserves based on a purported environmental safety rationale, ” he said. He added that Alaska was experiencing a shortage of gas, which he claimed was a “clean fuel. ” And he said if the state did not develop gas, another place perhaps would, “without strict standards to protect the environment. ” The case was filed by Our Children’s Trust, the non-profit law firm that won a groundbreaking climate victory on behalf of youthful Montanans last year. Global warming is currently taking a toll on the young Alaskans, the lawsuit says, by “interfering with their healthy development, disrupting their cultural traditions and identities, and limiting their access to the natural resources on which they rely. ” Fish and other species that the plaintiffs eat are dying according to changes in the climate. More frequent and intense wildfires are threatening the youthful people’s homes and exposing them to dangerous pollution from smoke. And the knowledge of the threat of the climate crisis is taking a toll on their health, the complaint says, among various impacts. Those effects have been especially tough for Native Northern youth, the complaint says. That includes Sagoonick, who resides in the village of Unalakleet, which is prone to climate-induced flooding, fast permafrost thawing and serious coastal erosion. “We’re presently seeing huge impacts to our ability to provide for our subsistence because of climate change, ” she said. Sagoonick learned to fish, hunt, and gather when she was fresh; she relies on nearby subsistence foods, including salmon and other fish, seal, duck, and cranberries, for the vast majority of her diet, the lawsuit says. “As our water warms and the land erodes, it poses a threat to our nourishment and our cultural practices, ” Sagoonick said. The “right to a livable climate” is “arguably the bare minimum, ” two state high court justices argued in an earlier dissent. Tim Fitzpatrick of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation said: “AGDC is directed by Alaska statute to commercialize North Slope natural gas because of the large environmental, economic and energy security benefits it unlocks for our state. ” He added that the project had “withstood aggressive climate scrutiny by two successive administrations because of its clear and numerous benefits. ” Four of the plaintiffs, including Sagoonick, were also part of a 2017 Our Children’s Trust lawsuit against Alaska that argued the the state’s promotion of fossil fuels in general violated the challengers ’ state constitutional rights. In 2022, the Alaska highest court dismissed that case in a 3-2 decision. But the two dissenting justices said under Alaska’s constitution, the “right to a sustainable climate” is “arguably the bare minimum ” when it comes to the rights enshrined in the state constitution. “They are the only two justices from the Alaska supreme court to address this question of whether Alaska’s constitution guarantees the right to a climate system that sustains human life, ” Andrew Welle, senior staff attorney for Our Children’s Trust and counsel for the Alaska plaintiffs. “So we’re seeking for the whole court to decide that same issue. ” Though it did not set precedent, Welle said the decision is a “a powerful indication. ” The complaint marks the first time Our Children’s Trust is challenging a certain fossil fuel project, more than a government’s total support of fossil fuels. The state of Alaska is named as a defendant, when is the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, and that corporation’s president, Frank Richards. The youth plaintiffs are hoping the court issues an order prohibiting the state from moving ahead with the project. They are also seeking to set precedent recognizing that fossil fuel infrastructure violates the plaintiffs ’ constitutional rights. “That is the first step to securing broader vision of climate justice for Alaska’s youth, as that can be built upon in future cases and enforcement actions, ” said Welle. Earlier this year, Montana’s high court upheld a groundbreaking decision in a case filed by Our Children’s Trust, requiring state regulators to consider the climate crisis before approving permits for fossil fuel development. The state has appealed that decision, and on Tuesday, the court said it would hear oral arguments this approaching July. Our Children’s Trust even has pending state lawsuits in Hawaii—which will go to trial in June—as also in Florida, Utah and Virginia. On Monday, it filed an amended complaint against the national government on behalf of California youth. A federal appeals court this month granted the Biden administration ’s request to strike down a landmark national case from Our Children’s Trust. This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced these as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Eight young people are suing the government of Alaska—the nation’s fastest-warming state—claiming a big new fossil fuel project violates their state legal rights. The state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation has proposed a$ 38. 7 billion gas export project that would almost triple the state’s
This story was originally published in the Guardian, and is reproduced as part of Climate Desk’s collaboration. Eight young people have filed a lawsuit against the government of Alaska, the nation’s fastest warming state, claiming that a major fossil fuel project violates state constitutional rights. The state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation is proposing a $38,7 billion gas export that would triple the state’s current output.
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