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VIDEO · 28 FEBRUARY 2019

Citizen Plaintiffs Lose A Climate Suit — Let Me Count The Ways (Video)

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Yesterday, Judge Paul Diamond dismissed climate litigation brought by the Clean Air Council and two minor plaintiffs. Like the Juliana case in Oregon, the plaintiffs argued that the government

United StatesEnvironment
Seth Jaffe
Seth Jaffe
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Yesterday, Judge Paul Diamond dismissed climate litigation brought by the Clean Air Council and two minor plaintiffs. Like the Juliana case in Oregon, the plaintiffs argued that the government had violated the their rights by failing to take robust action against climate change. Here are some of the failures that Judge Diamond identified in the complaint.

First, he found the plaintiffs did not have standing. Why not?

  • No injury in fact
  • No traceability
  • No redressability

Judge Diamond also ruled that prudential concerns regarding separation of powers compelled a conclusion that plaintiffs did not have standing:

Article III standing exists "to prevent the judicial process from being used to usurp the powers of the political branches." These considerations preclude me from acting as a "virtually continuing monitor[] of the wisdom and soundness of Executive action."

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