Youth plaintiffs and supporters hold up signs after the court hearing in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. (Image via X)

Thirteen Hawaiian children and young activists, who had filed a climate suit against the state’s transport department in 2022, clinched a clear victory when the department agreed to bring the carbon emission to zero by 2045 and not net-zero as the target was. The agreement was reached before the case was taken up by the judge. This is being seen as a rare victory for environment and the cause of climate change.

The petition was filed on the basis of the Hawaiian constitution which is about public trust, where natural resources are to be protected and preserved. “This is the world’s first youth-led constitutional climate case addressing climate pollution from the transportation sector,” said Earthjustice, a non-profit environmental law organisation.

The case known as Navahine v Hawaii Department of Transportation in which the plaintiffs had contended that the state of Hawaii had violated the constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by pursuing transportation policies which use fossil fuels and cause emissions which pollute. The transport sector is estimated to contribute 60 per cent of the emissions by 2030. The petitioners invoked the ‘public trust doctrine’ of the Hawaiian constitution which says that public natural resources are held in trust for the benefit of the people. They also cited the Hawaiian constitutional pledge to “conserve and protect Hawaii’s natural beauty and all natural resources.”

The grounds for filing the petition against the Hawaiian transport department is the most interesting. Navahine F, is a 14-year-old native Hawaiian who wants to be a farmer of the root vegetable taro, following the family tradition. She contended that because of droughts and floods brought because of climate change she would not be able to fulfil her dream.

The lawsuit said, “If urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are not made, these [family’s wetlands] would be underwater within Navahine’s lifetime.” Similarly, Ka ‘onohi, 15, wants to be a marine biologist or archaeologist, but he is worried that due to climate change the natural resources of Hawaii would be damaged and he would not be able pursue his dream. These demands look unrealistic for many but what the youth are claiming is their true and natural rights. Rights should not remain empty words in the pages of a constitution. They have to be redeemed. And the youngsters by filing a suit demanding their rights have done justice. Navahine said about the settlement with the transport department, “We got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected.”

Hawaii Governor Josh Green in his statement said, “This settlement informs how we as a state can best move forward to achieve life-sustaining goals.” And he told the young petitioners, “It’s ground-breaking, you’re the first in the country, I believe in a state, to succeed.” This is not an isolated incident though no less significant. There are other instances where young people filed cases for the preservation of the environment and for fighting climate change.

In 2020, a group of nine aged between 15 and 32 challenged Germany’s Federal Climate Protection Act, arguing that emission targets provided in the law were insufficient. The Federal Constitutional Court accepted the argument and the government had to bring forward the date of carbon neutrality from 2050 to 2045. Similarly, in Montana in the United States, 16 people and young children aged five to 22 sued the Montana government for not protecting the environment. The court agreed and asked the state government to take into consideration climate change before deciding on fossil fuel policies. The future belongs to the young, and it is not surprising that they should be worried about climate change and the environment, and that they should be challenging governments in courts to take care of the environment, and fight climate change.