Overview

• Twenty-two young Americans filed the suit in July, arguing that executive orders on energy constitute an unconstitutional infringement of their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
• The plaintiffs contend that the president’s early-2025 national energy emergency orders boosting oil and gas production and blocking renewable projects violate the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause
• Nineteen Montana prosecutors have sought to intervene on behalf of the federal government, marking an unusual show of local support for the administration’s energy agenda
• The lawsuit builds on prior youth victories, including a 2023 Montana environmental permitting ruling and a 2024 Hawaii transport decarbonization agreement
• Legal scholars are divided on the case’s prospects before a conservative Supreme Court that may be reluctant to extend constitutional protections to climate harms