The team from Young Progressive Democrats of America (YPDA) is bringing you a very special Earth Day Town Hall this Sunday, focusing on a nationwide movement that has come to be known as Youth v Gov.

First, hosts Hartzell Gray and William Walter will introduce speeches given earlier in the day outside the White House by the young plaintiffs in the case of Juliana v the United States, in which the plaintiffs assert that the federal government has violated their constitutional rights by causing dangerous carbon dioxide concentrations.

For over eight years, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has aggressively filed motions to delay or dismiss this landmark constitutional climate case. On December 29, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken ruled in favor of the Juliana 21, putting an end to the DOJ’s motions to dismiss the case, and allowing the youth plaintiffs to continue on the path to trial.

Then we will be joined by one of the lead attorneys representing the Juliana plaintiffs, Mat dos Santos, from Our Children’s Trust.

Then we will hear about another case from Hawaii, where young people are making similar claims, only at the State level. We’ll be joined by Marti Townsend, attorney with Earth Justice, and Joanna Ziegler, attorney with Our Children’s Trust, will speak about the constitutional climate lawsuit, Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT). 

These Constitutional climate lawsuits center on children’s legal rights to a safe climate. They work to protect the Earth’s climate system for present and future generations, securing their binding and enforceable legal rights to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate.

RSVP here to join us for an amazing youth-led Town Hall about youth leadership on climate.

In solidarity,