Depending on who you ask, the kids might not be alright. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in the case Juliana v. United States, No. 18-36082, popularly referred to as the youth climate change litigation. In this case, initially filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in August 2015, a group of 21 children allege that the federal government defendants, including the United States, the president, and the heads of several executive agencies, have denied them their constitutional rights to life, liberty or property without due process of law. The plaintiffs assert that the federal government has long been aware of the dangerous climate effects of burning fossil fuels, and nevertheless has and continues to promote a fossil fuel-based energy system.

U.S. District Court judge Ann Aiken of the District of Oregon denied the government’s motion to dismiss in November 2016, and more recently denied the federal defendants’ motions for judgment on the pleadings and for summary judgment in October 2018. In December 2018, the Ninth Circuit granted the government’s petition for an interlocutory appeal.