MONTANA (Enmaeya News) — September 24, 2025
A group of 22 young climate activists has filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and multiple federal agencies, arguing that his executive orders promoting fossil fuel development threaten the environment and violate constitutional protections.
The lawsuit, filed in May and now before a Montana federal court, seeks to block three executive orders that direct agencies to revive the coal industry, accelerate fossil fuel projects, and roll back regulations designed to limit emissions. Plaintiffs, many from Montana, say they already suffer from climate-related health problems, including asthma exacerbated by coal dust and wildfire smoke.
Represented by the nonprofit Our Children’s Trust, the youth plaintiffs argue that the true emergency lies in the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels, which pollute air, water, land, and the climate—resources essential to life, security, and freedom.
The Department of Justice is asking the court to dismiss the case, citing a similar 2015 lawsuit by Our Children’s Trust that was rejected on procedural grounds. Meanwhile, attorneys general from 18 states supporting the administration argue that the orders provide significant economic benefits and help preserve jobs, tax revenue, and energy stability.
Experts say legal challenges to presidential authority have surged under Trump, but outcomes remain uncertain due to limited judicial precedent. Montana’s courts previously ruled in 2023 that state agencies cannot be barred from assessing the climate impact of fossil fuel projects, a decision upheld by the state Supreme Court.
Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and questioned the motives of climate scientists, has also rolled back environmental protections, withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, and halted federal climate assessments, raising global concern about accelerating warming and weakened climate policy.
The United States is currently the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter, after China, though historically it has contributed the most to cumulative emissions.
