Judge dismisses Wisconsin youth climate lawsuit

Listen to this article

A Dane County judge has dismissed a case brought by Wisconsin youth who challenged state laws that they argue worsen the climate crisis and violate their constitutional rights.

In August, environmental groups Our Children’s Trust and Midwest Environmental Advocates filed the lawsuit on behalf of 15 youth against the Public Service Commission and Wisconsin Legislature in Dane County Circuit Court.

The groups had asked the court to find that state laws capping renewable energy requirements and barring utility regulators from considering pollution from new fossil fuel plants are unconstitutional. While sympathetic to the youth, Dane County Judge Julie Genovese said in a decision last week that the case must be dismissed because the courts are incapable of deciding environmental policy.

“Whether Wisconsin’s environmental policy is adequate to combat climate change is a political question, not a legal one. Thus, these claims must be resolved through the political process; not by the courts,” Genovese wrote.

Republican leaders did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling. A PSC spokesperson said the order speaks for itself. The Legislature and utility regulators had argued the case presented “nonjusticiable political questions” on energy policy that were better left for lawmakers to decide.

The Legislature also argued Wisconsin youth lacked standing to bring their claims because they failed to show actual harm, citing a recent federal appeals court ruling in a similar lawsuit filed by California youth.

“Plaintiffs here, like the plaintiffs in (the California case), similarly rely on a chain of speculative assumptions to illustrate how the provisions that they challenge relate to their alleged harm,” the Legislature’s attorney Ryan Walsh wrote in a filing ahead of the decision.

Wisconsin youth had argued their health had been affected by flooding, poor air quality due to wildfire smoke, extreme heat and Lyme disease that have grown more common due to climate change.

Senior Attorney Nate Bellinger with Our Children’s Trust said he’s disappointed with the judge’s ruling. He said groups weren’t asking the court to rewrite energy policy in Wisconsin, adding other state courts had rejected arguments that it’s a political matter in similar climate lawsuits.

“That is the job of the courts … to review those laws for constitutionality, especially when those laws are harming children,” Bellinger said. “And the court didn’t dispute that the plaintiffs here are being harmed by climate change, being harmed by the fossil fuel energy system in Wisconsin.”

The 15 young people ranging in age from 8 to 17 said they were unable to take part in activities that include swimming and skiing because a warming climate had reduced water quality and snowfall. Others said they had been deprived of Indigenous cultural traditions that include harvesting wild rice or fishing for walleye as a result of changing lake levels and warming waters due to climate change.

Most heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate warming are caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Coal and natural gas make up 75 percent of electricity generated in Wisconsin while renewable resources make up around 17 percent. Gov. Tony Evers has set a goal for the state to produce carbon-free electricity by 2050.

Tony Wilkin Gibart, MEA’s executive director, said they believe there’s a strong case for appeal.

“Youth plaintiffs are frustrated,” he said. “They’re also incredibly determined and have expressed a lot of resolve to continue this fight.”
Wisconsin is on track to provide 26 percent of the state’s electricity from wind and solar by 2030. At the same time, Wisconsin has seen rising energy demand due in part to data centers that are prompting utilities to invest in new gas-fired power plants and delay closure of coal plants.

A recently released report found Wisconsin’s climate will only continue to grow warmer and wetter with more extreme storms. Climate scientists have found temperatures have increased about 3 degrees Fahrenheit and precipitation has gone up 17 percent since the 1950s.

The lawsuit followed a landmark climate ruling in Montana. Wisconsin is among states that have pursued lawsuits linked to climate change, including Michigan and Hawaii.

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice had sued to block lawsuits from Michigan and Hawaii, as well as target “climate superfund” laws enacted by New York and Vermont. The latter two sought to make oil companies pay for contributing to climate change.