The Climate Docket

WHAT WE COVER:

  • Liability Litigation
    • Baltimore Lawsuit
    • California Climate Lawsuits
    • Colorado Lawsuit
    • Mass. v. Exxon
    • New York City Lawsuit
    • Rhode Island Lawsuit
    • Other Suits
  • Access to Courts
    • Liability Waivers
    • State Legislation
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Powered by Genesis

You are here: Home / International / Kids File Climate Lawsuit Against Ontario Government for Backsliding on Emissions Cuts
Kids File Climate Lawsuit Against Ontario Government for Backsliding on Emissions Cuts

Kids File Climate Lawsuit Against Ontario Government for Backsliding on Emissions Cuts

November 27, 2019 Filed Under: International, Liability Litigation

print

By Dana Drugmand

A group of young Canadians have filed a climate lawsuit against the province of Ontario, claiming that the government’s rollback of climate policies under Ontario Premier Doug Ford violates their fundamental rights. 

The new lawsuit, Mathur et. al. v. Her Majesty in Right of Ontario, challenges the weakening of Ontario’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. The province, under Ford’s conservative government, enacted legislation last year that ended a cap-and-trade program and lowered the 2030 target from a 37 percent reduction (below 1990 levels) to a 30 percent reduction compared to 2005 levels. The new target, plaintiffs say, is “dangerously inadequate” and will lead to significantly more carbon emissions as a new UN report shows countries must slash their emissions quickly to avoid catastrophic levels of global warming. 

The plaintiffs include seven young people ranging in age from 12 to 24. Their lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeks a court order requiring the government to set a science-based emissions reduction target that aligns with the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. They claim the government’s failure to act on climate in response to scientific warnings contributes to a dangerous level of climate change that violates their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Specifically, they allege violations of their rights to life, liberty and personal security, as well as violation of the Charter’s equal rights protection    

“Ontario’s climate rollbacks pose an unacceptable risk to the life, liberty and security of all Ontarians,” said attorney Nader Hasan, whose firm Stockwoods LLP, along with the nonprofit group Ecojustice, is representing the young plaintiffs. 

“These rollbacks are unconstitutional and will condemn entire generations to shouldering the frightening health impacts the climate crisis,” Hasan said. “Because government won’t act on its own, we’re asking the courts to order this government to wake up and take action.”

The Ontario lawsuit is the latest in a wave of legal actions from young people demanding governments do more to prevent catastrophic climate change. A group of young Canadians filed suit against the federal government last month, a case modeled after the landmark American youth climate lawsuit Juliana v. United States. Several other youth climate cases are pending at the state level, including in Alaska, Florida, Oregon, and Washington. 

Young people in Norway, represented by the organization Nature and Youth, are challenging the Norwegian government’s licensing of offshore oil drilling. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and 15 other young people from around the world filed a children’s rights petition with the UN in September targeting Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey, seeking to compel those countries to take stronger climate action. 

Young people and children will be disproportionately impacted by climate change, and a recent study in the medical journal The Lancet confirmed that failing to rein in GHG emissions risks worsening health problems for children worldwide. 

The Ontario lawsuit references these expected climate-related health impacts, such as the spread of infectious diseases, rising mental health impacts, worsening air pollution from wildfires, and increases in death and illnesses from extreme heat. 

“I do not feel like I am secure or safe in my future, which is why I am committed to fighting for climate action,” said Shaelyn Wabegijig, 22 year-old plaintiff from Peterborough, Ont. “I do not want to bring children into a world that is dying, or where they’re at risk of illness or harm imposed by climate change.” 

Alan Andrews, climate director with Ecojustice, said that governments should be prepared to face more climate lawsuits.

“Any government that is failing to address the climate emergency in a meaningful way can expect to face litigation of this nature,” he said. 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: International, Liability Litigation

Don't Miss a story
Subscribe 
We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
Don't Miss a story
Subscribe 
We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.

Latest News

Justice Dept. to Argue on Side of Oil Companies in Supreme Court Hearing

By Karen Savage The acting solicitor general will be allowed time to argue in support of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and nearly two dozen other companies next week during oral arguments before … [Read More...]

Recent Posts

  • Colorado Judge Rejects Oil Companies’ Attempt to Move Climate Case
  • Biden’s DOJ Could Help Swing Momentum Around Climate Cases
  • Supreme Court Questions Oil Companies’ Tactics to Shake Climate Cases
  • Will Amy Coney Barrett, Whose Father Was a Shell Attorney for Decades, Recuse from Climate Suit?

Most Popular

  • Climate Case Gets Green Light from European Union Court
  • Documents Detail What Shell Knew About Climate Change Decades Ago
  • France, Home of the Paris Agreement, Faces Lawsuit for Lack of Climate Progress
  • BP Accused of 'Greenwashing' and Deceiving Public With Renewable Energy Ads
  • Court: Climate Impacts of Pipeline Projects Cannot Be Ignored

Categories

  • Access to Courts
  • Baltimore Lawsuit
  • California Climate Lawsuits
  • Charleston, S.C. Lawsuit
  • Colorado Lawsuit
  • Connecticut Lawsuit
  • Delaware Lawsuit
  • Exxon Climate Investigation
  • Featured
  • Hoboken Lawsuit
  • International
  • Latest News
  • Liability Litigation
  • Liability Waivers
  • Mass. v. Exxon
  • Minnesota Lawsuit
  • New York City Lawsuit
  • Other Suits
  • Politics
  • Rhode Island Lawsuit
  • State Legislation
  • Uncategorized
  • Washington DC Lawsuit

Follow us

  • View climatedocket’s profile on Facebook
  • View climatedocket’s profile on Twitter

RSS

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.