/>iWe previously reported that President Trump issued a series of executive actions to fulfill his pledge to advance the United States’ domestic energy economy. These executive actions, such as President Trump’s Executive Orders Unleashing American Energy, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, and Reinvigorating…[the] Coal Industry…., now face legal challenges from environmental groups, led by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit law firm that exclusively represents youth plaintiffs against state and federal governments.[1] Presently, Our Children’s Trust seeks to enjoin these orders from taking effect because of their potential impact on climate change in the youths’ future. This post will provide a brief overview of the litigation and its pending timeline.
By way of brief background, in 2015, Our Children’s Trust led a novel lawsuit that sought to require the federal government to develop plans to phase out fossil fuels, claiming that the government’s actions in promoting fossil fuels caused climate change and impaired the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.[2] After a series of challenges and court rulings, the Ninth Circuit found that the plaintiffs lacked standing because the judiciary did not have the power to dictate climate change policies that are left for the political branches of government.[3] After further filings by both parties, the case was ultimately dismissed. The plaintiffs’ petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari but was recently denied in March 2025.
Now, in challenging President Trump’s energy-related executive actions, Our Children’s Trust is alleging arguments similar to those it previously asserted in Juliana v. United States. Specifically, the plaintiffs again argue that not only has climate change caused constitutional violations to the plaintiffs, but also that the executive actions were issued ultra vires, i.e., without legal authority. For example, Our Children’s Trust argues that there is no national energy emergency and that these executive actions are forcing agencies to neglect their statutory obligations, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s obligation to regulate air pollution under the Clean Air Act. Our Children’s Trust has filed a motion with the Montana federal court requesting a preliminary injunction to prevent the federal government from further acting upon the President’s executive actions.
On July 11, 2025, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a brief in opposition to Our Children’s Trust’s motion, arguing that, like in Juliana, the plaintiffs lack standing because the court does not have the power to regulate climate change policy of political branches. Additionally, DOJ contends that these executive actions do not impact global climate emissions to the extent that there could be a “fairly traceable” climate injury to the plaintiffs. The Montana federal court has scheduled a hearing on the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion for September 16 and 17, 2025. We will follow up with additional updates as to case developments since they may impact the controlling case law on climate change litigation and President Trump’s administration’s efforts to further energy development.
[1] See Lighthiser v. Trump, No. 2:25-cv-00054-DLC, (D. Mont. filed May 29, 2025)
[2] See Juliana v. United States, No. 6:15-cv-1517, (D. Or. filed Aug. 12, 2015). See also “Charting Climate Change Cases: A Survey of Recent Litigation” here for further discussion.
[3] See Juliana v. United States, 947 F.3d 1159, 1173 (9th Cir. 2020)
