JANUARY 2024
Each month, we invite you to learn about the people, the progress, the precedent, and the history-making protection of children’s right to a safe climate powered by Our Children’s Trust.
PEOPLE-POWERED JUSTICE
Meet Andrea Rodgers! As Deputy Director for the U.S. Legal Program at Our Children’s Trust, Andrea represents children and youth in our federal constitutional climate lawsuits – Genesis v. EPA and Juliana v. U.S. – and serves as lead counsel for the 14 youth plaintiffs in Navahine F. v. HDOT, where trial is scheduled to begin on June 24. Andrea also leads our case in Canada on behalf of 15 youth plaintiffs, La Rose v. His Majesty the King, which just got put back on the track to trial.
1. What do you do here at Our Children’s Trust?
I am our Deputy Director for our domestic litigation program, so I primarily litigate our state and federal cases, and work closely with Julia Olson (our ED) developing our overall legal strategy, which I have been a part of in different capacities since our founding in 2010. I am a member of our Leadership Team and work closely with our Government Affairs Program. I also support our global litigation efforts, especially in Canada. On a day-to-day basis, I am writing briefs, taking/defending depositions, preparing evidence, and crafting legal strategy and arguments. The best part of my job is working directly with our youth clients as they prepare for trial!
2. How did you get involved in climate law?
I knew from a very young age that I would be working on climate issues. My Dad, Professor William H. Rodgers, Jr., is one of the founders of the field of environmental law, so I was really immersed in environmental legal issues. Many of my childhood photos are of our family at polluted Superfund sites, fish hatcheries, and piles of mine tailings. He gave me Al Gore’s book, Earth in the Balance, and knew that climate would become the most defining legal issue of my generation. After working on Environmental and Indian law issues for a decade, in 2010 I connected with Julia Olson to collaborate on the development of some of the legal theories we are now implementing at OCT. I volunteered to litigate the first case in the state of Washington that we filed in 2011, and the rest is history! Once you have the privilege of representing young people and uplifting their voices and their rights, there is no turning back.
3. What has been one of your favorite memories or experiences since you joined the team?
Arguing the summary judgment motion with Julia in the Juliana case is a highlight for me. I think it was a Friday that we found out we would be having oral argument the following Monday or Tuesday, so very little notice to prepare to argue a huge motion. Julia asked me to argue the causation section. We ended up putting together a very powerful argument tag-team style and it was exhilarating to be able to argue that part of our case. The issues in our case are so important and the defendants fight us so hard that we don’t have the luxury of seeking lengthy delays, which is a standard practice in other types of cases.
4. What gives you hope?
Working closely with our young plaintiffs gives me a unique insight as to why we all should have hope. They are such incredible leaders full of ideas and inspiration about how to solve the climate crisis. They are so dedicated and understand how vital it is we listen to the science in crafting climate solutions. I get the honor of seeing our young plaintiffs grow up and make their mark on the world, which will usher in the changes we need to solve the climate crisis.
5. What is one thing you’d want everyone to know about Our Children’s Trust?
How incredibly dedicated our staff is to achieving climate justice. We will never give up, no matter how challenging the road is ahead of us. Young people deserve the best legal representation possible in their quest for climate justice and we strive to achieve a level of excellence that is unmatched.
Youth-Powered Justice
Kaliko and Mesina, two of the 14 youth plaintiffs in Navahine F. v. HDOT, alongside other young people represented by Our Children’s Trust, were featured this summer in The New York Times.
Read “With TikTok and Lawsuits, Gen Z Takes on Climate Change” to hear directly from these young climate leaders why youth are leading the charge to protect our planet!
Photo by Bryan Anselm for the New York Times
Just last week, Here and Now featured Kaliko’s and Kalālapa’s stories of why they have turned to the courts to protect their Native Hawaiian cultures and traditions and what gives them hope as they prepare for the June 2024 trial in their case.
Read prominent media coverage on Navahine F. v. Hawai’i Department of Transportation:
“Indigenous teens lead legal battle for climate justice in Hawaii”
Interviews with plaintiffs Kalālapa and Kaliko reflect on a year of tragedy and hope.
“How 14 youth advocates in Hawaii are fighting climate change by taking the state to court”
Business Insider's interview with plaintiff Taliya on her involvement in the Navahine case: "I realized I had never done anything prominent to help my climate. I thought that by joining this, I can be one small voice in a sea of problems."
“Hawaii’s youth-led climate change lawsuit is going to trial next summer”
The plaintiffs, most of them Indigenous youth, say the state’s highway projects promote greenhouse gas emissions and threaten their constitutional rights.
“Hawai’i Youth Sue State For Environmental Threats”
Attorney Andrea Rodgers discusses the status of Navahine and its potential implications.
Science-Powered Evidence
Did you know that the longest record of direct measurements of carbon dioxide on our planet takes place in Hawai`i?
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, led by C. David Keeling (of the famous Keeling Curve!), alongside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has been measuring CO2 at Mauna Loa Observatory since 1958.
Scientists tell us that we must lower atmospheric CO2 to below 350 parts per million (ppm). As of November 2023, the monthly average CO2 at Mauna Loa is in our planet’s atmosphere of 420.46 ppm – up from 417.47 ppm in November 2022.
Graph by NOAA
Rights-Powered Change
We are less than six months from trial in Navahine F. v. HDOT! On June 24th, three weeks of testimony will be heard in open court in Honolulu, including personal stories from our 14 youth plaintiffs and irrefutable evidence from experts in topics like climate science, transportation impacts, and children’s health.
Navahine F. v. HDOT youth plaintiffs, their attorneys, and supporters cheer after a hearing in their case, January 2023 (Photo by Robin Loznak)
“Hawaii Is New US Hotbed of Legal Activism to Protect Climate”
Read why Bloomberg Law called Hawai’i the “New US Hotbed of Legal Activism to Protect Climate.”
Reporter Jennifer Hijazi writes, “…Hawaii has become uniquely fertile ground for environmental legal action, fueled by a long tradition of decolonization advocacy, specifically enshrined environmental rights and a rich Pacific Island heritage that is imminently threatened by global warming impacts — such as the devastating wildfires that ripped through Maui in August. The state’s courts have moved decisively while other US courts quibble over jurisdiction and technical legal barriers in climate lawsuits.”
A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook drops seawater over the perimeter of dry land that surrounds the areas impacted by the wildfires at Lahaina, Maui, Aug. 16, 2023
Democracy-Powered Trust
Fighting climate change depends upon people around the world leading all sorts of actions – from protest to legislation to litigation. Democracy happens in courtrooms, in the streets, and at the polls. They all matter—now more than ever. Our Children’s Trust is powered by hundreds of communities and global partners across the climate movement.
Together with Hawaiʻi Youth Climate Coalition (HYCC), we work to secure and protect the rights of young people around the planet.
Thanks to HYCC, 1,000 pairs of shoes line the sidewalk symbolizing the demand that the HDOT reduce its carbon footprint and for the court to keep the youth’s trial date (Photo by Will Soto)
1. How does HYCC protect climate rights in Hawaiʻi?
The HYCC protects climate rights in Hawai’i by using youth voices to take action in the community. Our methods – Outreach, Advocacy, Communications, and Logistics – each work with the community to effect change. The Outreach team works with other climate groups and recruits HYCC members. For example, we attend school climate fairs to educate youth on climate change and support other sustainability organizations.
The Advocacy team works during Hawaii’s legislative session to track and assist legislators with climate-related bills. The Communications team promotes HYCC’s actions and goals and educates the community on climate action. The team creates educational flyers, oversees our social media page, and creates editorial content. Logistics coordinates events, such as plastic pollution summits and climate rallies, to gather youth in the community to take action. We believe that, as youth, our actions have strength due to climate change affecting our future more than any generation before.
2. How and why do you partner with Our Children’s Trust, our co-counsel at Earthjustice, and the young plaintiffs we represent in Navahine F. v. Hawai’i Department of Transportation?
The HYCC partners with Our Children’s Trust by educating others in the community about the actions taken by the youth plaintiffs. Our Communications team shares information on events and brings together groups at their schools to travel to support the plaintiffs in court and elsewhere. For example, we coordinated a display with the lining of 1,000 shoes to represent the urgency of the climate crisis and the importance of the Navahine case.
As youth, we support the climate actions of other youth– especially those as incredible as the lawsuit that the young plaintiffs of Navahine F. v. Hawai’i Department of Transportation have brought together. We believe that the mission of the youth plaintiffs is similar to our goals for climate change action– to hold organizations accountable for their actions in worsening the effects of climate change.
3. What personally inspires you to take climate action?
Throughout my life, I have seen the conditions of our island change. At first, I noticed small changes, such as slight increases in water surface level while paddling in the Ala Wai canal, but later, I noticed larger changes, such as changing temperatures and erosion at Waikiki beach. At first, I felt little worried about climate change, since the changes were so small. But as I saw them grow and become more powerful, I became nervous at seeing, rather than just hearing of, the effects that climate change has had on our environment – it made me understand the issue at hand.
I remember when I was young, I would surf with my dad at Waikiki Beach on the weekends, waking up early to ride on our family longboard at sunrise. I only remember feeling happy when visiting the beach then, because it meant being able to ride waves for hours with my dad. However, when I visit the beach now, I feel much different because all I can see are the stark changes to the shoreline. The effects of heightened sea level and accelerated erosion on the shoreline, such as exposed concrete foundations and groins composed of sandbags, are easy to see. However, I soon learned that the problems I had seen here in Hawai’i are occurring throughout the world. What worries me most is that the changes we see now are only previews of what our islands and the world will look like in the future. If no action is taken, our beaches will flood and our āina will be devastated.
I want future generations to have the opportunity to have a childhood like I did, and I want to preserve my generation’s future. Although noticing climate change and understanding how it could affect our world makes me nervous and unhappy, it also makes me passionate to make a change. Being a part of the HYCC and working to address climate change has given me this opportunity. Performing climate change work with others who have similar mindsets has allowed me to grow change in my community that can change our future.
– Logan Lee, Co-Outreach Director
