A group of Virginia teens argued for their right to a livable environment at the Virginia Court of Appeals Tuesday morning.
Climate activists rallied and chanted at the base of the belltower at the Virginia capitol after arguing against the state at the Commonwealth’s second highest court. Our Children's Trust attorney Andrew Welle, who argued on behalf of the plaintiffs, explained their claims: “The Commonwealth’s policies to maximize the development and utilization of fossil fuels is directly and substantially contributing to the climate crisis and the harms to these young people.”
Those alleged harms include asthma, community flooding, and heat related injuries. But during oral arguments Virginia Assistant Attorney General Thomas Sanford told the three-judge appeals panel that a Richmond City Circuit Court judge got it right when he tossed the young plaintiffs’ suit in late 2022.
Among Sanford’s complaints were the constitutional claims the plaintiffs made related to their personal security and bodily integrity. He called them a quote “end run” around constitutional norms. He also argued making climate policy is not the job of the courts, especially in the face of non-action by the state’s legislature or governor.
But Kat Leedy, an 18-year-old life-long resident of Blacksburg and a plaintiff in the suit, said after the hearing that the court must act to protect younger generations from climate-related harms.
“While our fellow Virginians march and protest and chain themselves to equipment at the sites of fossil fuel development, the Commonwealth continues to permit fossil fuel projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline that destroy our land, waters and atmosphere,” Leedy said.
The panel didn’t signal from the bench how they would rule, nor was a deadline for an opinion offered.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
