‘Hope is a discipline’: youth climate case plaintiff on why he’s suing the US government

Nathan Baring of Alaska is part of a group of young activists suing the US, which they say willfully ignored' dangers of fossil fuels

Nathan Baring is a third-generation Alaskan and climate activist. He is also a plaintiff in Juliana v United States, a lawsuit brought by 21 young Americans who say the US government willfully ignored" the dangers of burning fossil fuels, which violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to life, liberty and property, and failed to protect public trust resources. If successful, the case could result in a declaration that the nation's pro-fossil fuel policies are unconstitutional, which the plaintiffs hope could lead to policy changes.

The case, first filed in 2015, has faced numerous obstacles, including a dismissal in 2020 by a US court of appeals. The plaintiffs' lawyers amended their case, and in June a federal judge in Oregon ruled the lawsuit can finally proceed to trial. A date has not yet been set.