Case Summary
Issue:
Whether individuals have standing to seek—by applying the public trust doctrine to the atmosphere—judicially fashioned emissions caps on carbon emissions because those emissions allegedly contribute to harms claimed to arise from global climate change caused by more than a century of emissions by billions of independent sources?
Plaintiff:
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, a minor, by and through next friend and parent Tamara Roske; Haiden Davis, a minor, by and through next friend and parent Kate Inskeep; Cecelia Kluding-Rodriguez; Alex Budd; and WildEarth Guardians
Defendant:
State of Colorado; Governor John Hickenlooper, as Governor of the State of Colorado; Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; Colorado Air Quality Control Commission; and Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Intervenor:
Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF)
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Case History
On May 4, 2011, several individuals and WildEarth Guardians filed a lawsuit against the State of Colorado, the Governor, and several state agencies, which was amended on May 20, alleging that the defendants have contributed to global warming by failing to “reduce Colorado’s fair share of annual CO2 emissions, in order to draw down atmospheric CO2 to less than 350 ppm by the end of this century.” The plaintiffs’ single claim for relief is that defendants’ failure to reduce Colorado’s “fair share” of carbon emissions damages the atmosphere and therefore violates the “public trust.”
The individual plaintiffs are children and young adults who allege that they will suffer harms if carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced “to less than 350 ppm by the end of this century” and climate change is allowed to continue unabated. They also allege that climate change has increased the bark beetle population, which has in turn harmed their enjoyment of various forests. One plaintiff also alleges that climate change has exacerbated her asthma by worsening air quality and contributing to a longer growing season for allergens. WildEarth Guardians alleges that it has worked to restore water ecosystems, which work will be undone by climate change.
On July 12, 2011, MSLF filed a motion to intervene. After receiving various filings, the district court, on August 18, 2011, granted MSLF’s motion to intervene. Meanwhile on July 29, 2011, MSLF filed a motion to dismiss arguing that the public trust doctrine is without basis in Colorado law and that WildEarth Guardians failed to allege injuries sufficient to confer standing. On that same day, Colorado also filed a motion to dismiss. On August 12, 2011, WildEarth Guardians filed a motion to strike MSLF’s motion to dismiss. On August 18, 2011, MSLF filed an opposition to WildEarth Guardians’s motion to strike. On August 25, 2011, the district court denied WildEarth Guardians’s motion to strike. On September 2, 2011, WildEarth Guardians filed a response to the motions to dismiss. On September 26, 2011, MSLF replied to WildEarth Guardians’s response.