18 children in California go to court – because climate change has been deliberately ignored.
– Everyone has the right to live, has the right to freedom and to be able to strive for happiness – not just adults, says 15-year-old Noah.
The children, who are eight to 17 years old, are suing the US EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, which they believe has allowed the US to grow into one of the world’s worst countries in terms of pollution – which endangers the children’s future, writes British The Independent.
In addition to the EPA, EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the US government are also mentioned. The children claim that there have been climate-related injustices during the 50 years that the EPA was tasked with monitoring the nation’s air quality and controlling emissions, which are among the largest in the world.
In their lawsuit, the children point out that they have felt discriminated against because they are minors, because the use of fossil fuels reduces the value of their lives and the lives they will eventually be able to live due to climate change in the future, writes Our Children’s Trust, a non-profit law firm helping the 18 children, in a press release.
The children say in the press release that they are affected by climate change while growing up in the western United States, such as having lost their homes in large wildfires, floods and evacuations due to “life-threatening” climate change-related events.
– We flee from forest fires, evacuate during floods, panic in hot classrooms in yet another heat wave. We feel constantly worried about the future, and everyone around us, no one is moving fast enough, says 15-year-old Noah, one of the children.
He hopes the lawsuit will remind everyone of the constitutional right that every citizen has the right to life, has the right to liberty and to be able to pursue happiness – not just adults.