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  In Oregon, a judge has denied a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to dismiss a lawsuit brought by young people in 2015.
  
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  The lawsuit claims that the federal government knew about the dangers associated with carbon pollution, but still supported the fossil fuel industry.
  
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  In the Oregon case, the plaintiffs argue that the government violated the constitutional rights of young people to life, property and liberty.
  

A judge of Oregon rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the 2015 lawsuit filed by youths who claimed that the federal government was aware of the dangers of carbon pollution, but continued to support fossil fuel industries through policies and subsidies.

The U.S. District court Judge Ann Aiken stated that “the parties do not disagree that climate change threatens our ability on Earth to survive.” This catastrophe is a great emergency and requires urgent action.

In her ruling, she said that “while facts are still to be proven, lawsuits such as this one highlight the young people’s frustration with the slow, unhurried pace of the bureaucratic response, which is a piecemeal and inefficient response to the most urgent emergency,”

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Julia Olson, the attorney representing the plaintiffs with Our Children’s Trust, stated that she expected a trial to be held later this year.

In a similar case in Montana last year, a court ruled that the Montana Environmental Policy Act violated the plaintiffs state constitutional rights to a healthy and clean environment. A 1971 law mandates that state agencies consider potential environmental impacts and solicit public input prior to issuing permits. The state’s Attorney General has appealed this decision.

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In the Oregon case, the plaintiffs argued that the government violated the constitutional right of young people to life, property and liberty.