“I knew that we would win because we had such a strong case. This is about protecting our basic human rights,” said Rikki Held, a 22-year-old environmental science student.
Held is the lead plaintiff in a case that involved a group of 16 young people in the U.S. state of Montana who won a landmark lawsuit this month when a judge ruled that the state was violating their constitutional right to “a clean and healthful environment,” as well as their rights to dignity, health and safety, and equal protection of the law.
In the case, the plaintiffs, who are now aged between five and 22, argued that the state of Montana was violating their constitutional rights by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate, harming them both mentally and physically.
