Ann Carlson in Mashable: The Kids’ Climate Lawsuit Just Got Thrown Out

Twenty-one children, adolescents, and young adults — all between the ages of 11 and 23 (as of June 2019) — sued the federal government in an unprecedented climate lawsuit in 2015. The youth argued that the U.S., by supporting an energy system that emits potent heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, infringed upon their constitutional rights to a stable future. But on Friday, their lawsuit got tossed out.  The kids (who are plaintiffs in the case) are experiencing the adverse effects of these environmental developments, or in legal parlance, have “injury.” It’s not hard to prove.  “We have on-the-ground harm that has been occurring to the kids in front of the court,” said Ann Carlson, the director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the UCLA School of Law. “It’s gotten much easier for plaintiffs to get evidence to establish [legal] standing.”