Judge Seeley'sthat Montana's greenhouse gas emissions are"nationally and globally significant," that Montana youth have been harmed by human-caused climate change, and that Montana's laws promoting fossil fuels are unconstitutional. Montana will now be forced to take climate change into account when it considers permits for new coal mines, power plants, pipelines, and other CO2-producing infrastructure.
In addition, Judge Seeley's ruling also offers something that's been in awfully short supply recently—hope.In other words, there's a possibility that this ruling, and others like it, will eventually reduce our CO2 emissions and limit the damage to our health, our natural ecosystems, and our economy. Whatever happens going forward—and we should keep in mind that the powers-that-be will appeal this decision to Montana's Supreme Court—I expect that young people all over the country will stand with Kian and his 15 fellow plaintiffs. Hope, after all, is contagious.