The Courts and Science are Our Children’s Last Lines of Defense
Our Children's Trust builds its groundbreaking youth-led climate litigation on a foundation of the best available climate science. As lawyers, we have a duty to our young clients and to the courts to bring the most up-to-date cutting-edge science and top experts, renowned in their fields, to present the facts of these important cases.
The scientific community widely recognizes that carbon dioxide levels (CO2) are increasing in our atmosphere, and that this is having dramatic effects on our climate. Current science tells us that reducing atmospheric CO2 from its current level of over 400 parts per million ("ppm") to below 350 ppm is necessary to restore the Earth’s energy balance and stabilize our climate system.
WE MUST REDUCE CO2 LEVELS TO 350PPM.
WE ARE ALREADY OVER 415PPM AND INCREASING!
Leading climate scientists and experts have also determined, with scientific certainty, that Earth’s global heating must stabilize this century at or below 1°C degrees above pre-industrial temperatures, with further reductions in the next century, to be safe for our children. The decisions of global leaders to set temperature targets for limiting global heating to 1.5°C-2°C are based on political compromise of economic and corporate interests, not scientific evidence.
WE MUST REDUCE GLOBAL HEATING TO 1℃.
WE ARE ALREADY AT 1.1℃-1.3℃ AND RISING!
As a planet, we are already suffering historically devastating climate impacts - globally catastrophic wildfires and smoke, extreme heat and droughts, deadly flooding, and increased disease and death - at an average of between 1.1°C and 1.3°C degrees of global heating. Allowing the planet to heat even more than it has already, just to meet an arbitrarily political target, is nonsensical and dangerous.
Watch the short videos below to learn more about the safe climate metrics scientists and experts agree must be met in order to secure a safe climate for both present and future generations:
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Interested in learning more about the best available current climate science? Check out additional resources here:
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— By Our Children’s Trust
— By Andrea Rodgers, Lauren E. Sancken, and Jennifer Marlow
— By Dr. James Hansen
— By Dr. James Hansen
Heat stored in the Earth System: where does the energy go?
— By Dr. Karina von Schuckmann and 37 others
Coral Reef Ecosystems under Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
— By Drs. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Elvira S. Poloczanksa, William Skirving, and Sophie Dove
Sea-Level Rise Due to Polar Ice-Sheet Mass Loss During Past Warm Periods
— By Drs. Andrea Dutton, Anders Carlson, Antony Long, Glenn Milne, Peter Clark, Robert DeConto, Ben Horton, Stefan Rahmstorf, and Maureen Raymo
Palaeoclimate Constraints on the Impact of 2°C Anthropogenic Warming and Beyond
— By Dr. Hubertus Fischer and 58 others
Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points
— By David I. Armstrong McKay, Arie Staal, Jesse F. Abrams, Ricarda Winkelmann, Boris Sakschewski, Sina Loriani, Ingo Fetzer, Sarah E. Cornell, Johan Rockström, and Timothy M. Lenton
Safe and just Earth system boundaries
— By Johan Rockström and 50 others
Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matters
— By David R. Rounce and 12 others
Global warming overshoots increase risks of climate tipping cascades in a network model
— By Nico Wunderling, Ricarda Winkelmann, Johan Rockström, Sina Loriani, David I. Armstrong McKay, Paul D. L. Ritchie, Boris Sakschewski, and Jonathan F. Donges
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They Knew: The US Federal Government’s Fifty-Year Role in Causing the Climate Crisis
— By James Gustave SpethThis compelling book offers evidence supporting our youth plaintiffs’ claims and presenting a devastating account of the United States federal government’s role in bringing about today’s climate crisis. All proceeds from the sale of this book go to Our Children’s Trust.
As the World Burns
— By Lee van der VooThis book by investigative reporter Lee van der Voo follows the plight of the young Juliana v. United States plaintiffs, chronicling their legal battle as their childhoods are consumed by another year of catastrophic climate events.
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Tells the story about the scientists who developed the scientific prescriptions needed for a climate recovery plan, the attorney who figured out how to apply the Public Trust Doctrine to the atmosphere, and one of the attorneys who is supporting these youth in court.
YOUTH v GOV, an independent film by Director Christi Cooper, Barrelmaker Productions and Vulcan Productions
The independent film tells the story of Juliana v. United States. The climate crisis is often treated as something big and existential. However, this film demonstrates that it’s also something that is immediately personal. The viewer gets to see and hear the stories of individual youth who are directly impacted and harmed by this crisis.
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Drilled: An Update on the Big U.S. Youth Climate Lawsuit
This episode features an interview with Chief Legal Counsel for Our Children’s Trust, Julia Olson, and discusses why the Juliana v. United States youth plaintiffs are bringing their lawsuit based on the best available climate science.
No Ordinary Lawsuit, Episode: They Knew
This episode examines what the U.S. government knew - as far back as 1965 - about the potentially catastrophic effects of a fossil fuel-based energy system.
