constitution
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Hawaii agrees to a zero-emission transportation deadline
Hawaii has reached a legal settlement with young climate activists, requiring the state to achieve zero emissions in its transportation sector by 2045.
In short:
- The lawsuit, filed by 13 young people, claimed Hawaii's transportation policies violated their constitutional rights by contributing to climate change.
- The settlement mandates Hawaii to fully decarbonize its ground, sea, and inter-island air transportation by 2045.
- This agreement includes oversight by the court to ensure compliance and faster progress towards emission reduction goals.
Key quote:
“This is an extraordinary, unprecedented victory for the youth plaintiffs.”
— Michael Gerrard, faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University
Why this matters:
This settlement marks a significant step in addressing climate change by targeting transportation emissions, a major contributor to greenhouse gases. It also demonstrates the power of youth activism in influencing environmental policy.
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New Mexico constitution focus of legal fight over oil and gas drilling
The nation's No. 2 oil-producing state is being sued over its alleged failure to meet constitutional provisions meant to protect against pollution from the industry.
New Mexico Democrats hope bill will protect rights against pollution
Rights to a clean environment could be enshrined in New Mexico’s Constitution if a resolution pre-filed ahead of the 2023 Legislative Session is passed, putting the matter before voters.
Chile’s constitutional fight over climate change
Chileans rejected a proposed constitution that would have been the first to confront climate change. But they are not done.
Opinion
Andrew Koppelman and John Paul Stevens: Climate change and the Supreme Court’s version of police abolitionism
Most voters have repeatedly rejected the radical libertarian notion that liberty means a government too feeble to solve the nation’s most urgent problems.
Photo by Dion Beetson on Unsplash
Environmentalists in Chile are hoping to replace the country’s Pinochet-era legal framework with an ‘ecological constitution’
A draft now being debated, which must be completed by July 5 and ratified in a national vote before September, would recognize the climate crisis and guarantee the rights of nature and animals.
Water or mineral? In Chile, a debate over lithium brine
Chile’s constitutional rewrite confronts climate change head on
Chile has lots of lithium, which is essential to the world’s transition to green energy. But anger over powerful mining interests, a water crisis and inequality has driven Chile to rethink how it defines itself.
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