Federal appellate judges on Monday seemed unconvinced that young climate activists had the power to sue over President Donald Trump’s directives to unleash fossil fuel energy.
During oral arguments, an attorney for the youth faced questions from three judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals about her clients’ standing to bring their case and whether Trump’s executive orders were specific enough to trigger legal claims that a court could address.
“If there’s no agency action, what is the injury?” Judge Jennifer Sung asked Julia Olson, executive director Our Children’s Trust, a public interest law firm that has represented young people in various climate lawsuits against both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Throughout the argument, Olson compared the case to Trump’s Supreme Court defeat on executive orders that directed tariffs on imported goods.
