Young climate plaintiffs fight trial delay
Apr. 28—Attorneys representing the Hawaii youth plaintiffs suing the Department of Transportation for not doing enough to combat climate change have filed a motion to prevent the trial from being delayed by at least eight months.
Attorneys representing the Hawaii youth plaintiffs suing the Department of Transportation for not doing enough to combat climate change have filed a motion to prevent the trial from being delayed by at least eight months.
The motion, filed Wednesday by attorneys with Earthjustice, asks the court to maintain the trial date set for Sept. 26, saying a delay does not match the urgency of the issue at hand.
Three weeks ago Environmental Court Judge Jeffrey P. Crabtree of the 1st Circuit denied the state's attempt to prevent the case from proceeding to trial.
Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation, filed in June, contends the DOT operates a system that emits high levels of greenhouse gasses in violation of the plaintiffs' state constitutional rights, causing them significant harm and affecting their ability to "live healthful lives in Hawaii now and into the future."
While Hawaii has sought to be a leader in state-level climate action, emissions from the transportation sector are on the rise, and DOT has missed every interim benchmark to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions since 2008, according to the complaint.
The attorneys say the 14 youth plaintiffs, ranging from 10 to 20 years old and living across the island chain, want to hold the state agency accountable to ensure it meets the state's goal to decarbonize Hawaii's transportation sector and achieve a zero-emissions economy by 2045.
The Sept. 26 trial date was set by Crabtree in September in accordance with the Hawaii court requirement that calls for trials to be set within 12 months of their scheduling conferences.
Attorneys for the young plaintiffs said they filed their motion after the state declared its intention to seek a delay by at least eight months.
In their motion the plaintiffs ask that the trial date be maintained "to ensure the escalating harms they are already experiencing can be redressed in time to alleviate their losses and suffering and avert a climate catastrophe."
"The State has already caused months-long delay in this case's trial by filing a meritless motion to dismiss, " Earthjustice attorney Leina 'ala Ley said Thursday in a news release. "Now, the administration is seeking a $1 million budget increase to pay the same private attorneys to continue their delay tactics. Rather than throwing money at D.C. and California attorneys, the State should be working with our clients to invest in solutions to our greenhouse gas problem."
The state Attorney General's Office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
If the lawsuit goes to trial in September, it would be only the second constitutional climate trial and second youth-led climate trial in U.S. history, as well as the first constitutional climate change case directed at stopping climate pollution from transportation systems, Earthjustice said.
The suit is one of several youth-led constitutional climate lawsuits brought by Oregon-based Our Children's Trust with local law firms like Earthjustice's Mid-Pacific Office.
Our Children's Trust is also part of youth climate lawsuits in Montana, Virginia and Utah.
Andrea Rodgers, senior litigation attorney with Our Children's Trust, said maintaining the September trial date is imperative to stop the state's ongoing constitutional violations.
"Every day that they continue to operate a state transportation system that increases greenhouse gas pollution digs the hole deeper and prevents Hawaii from making a difference on the climate crisis for the sake of these young people and future generations, " Rodgers said.
The motion is supported by testimony from University of Hawaii climate researcher Chip Fletcher, psychiatrist Lise Van Susteren and University of Denver professor Catherine Smith, a children's rights legal scholar.
One of the young plaintiffs, 12-year-old Kaliko T. of West Maui, who lost her house in a flood, said she finds the delays in the case disappointing.
"It's very frustrating to see how long people have been talking about this and how long there have been so many cases about this exact problem and people will not wake up, " she said.
