Climate Change Effects on Montanans

Montana’s 1972 constitution guarantees its citizens a right to “a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.” The 2023 trial of Held V. State of Montana, a lawsuit brought by 16 Montana youth, attempts to show how the state government’s longstanding energy policies violate this constitutional right by favoring fossil fuel industries with high carbon emissions.

The lawsuit is named for plaintiff Rikki Held, age 22, a fifth-generation Montanan raised on a cattle ranch in the Powder River basin. In testimony, Rikki described the high toll of more pow...