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Attorneys for the 14 youth who filed a climate lawsuit against the state said Thursday that the case will proceed to trial in September after a judge denied a request to dismiss it.
Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation will become only the second constitutional climate trial, and the second youth-led climate trial, in U.S. history, according to Earthjustice and Our Children's Trust.
The youth, who include three in Maui County, filed the lawsuit in June, claiming that the state's transportation system and resulting greenhouse gas pollution are violating their state constitutional rights, causing them harm and impacting their ability to live healthy lives. The youth plaintiffs are seeking to make sure DOT meets the state's goal of decarbonizing its transportation sector and achieving a zero emissions economy by 2045.
"I am glad that my story is helping to advance climate action in Hawai'i. I don't want anyone else to suffer the way I and my family have," Kaliko T., one of the plaintiffs from Maui, said in a news release Thursday following the court's decision.
Kaliko's family home was destroyed in a flood during Tropical Storm Olivia in 2018, shortly after a massive wildfire in West Maui sparked by Hurricane Lane.
In a ruling released Thursday, Judge Jeffrey Crabtree of the 1st Circuit Environmental Court said that "the court should dismiss only when 'it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his or her claim that would entitle him or her to relief,' " according to Kealoha v. Machado.
"Plaintiffs allege nothing less than that they stand to inherit a world with severe climate change and the resulting damage to our natural resources," Crabtree wrote. "Since Defendants essentially argue Hawai'i law does not require them to take action now, it appears a declaratory judgment action will help resolve the parties' different views of what the Legislature and the Constitution require."
Hawaii Deputy Solicitor General Lauren Chun said in a statement: "The Court's ruling today merely allows the case to proceed past the pleading stage and does not decide the merits of the Plaintiffs' allegations. The State of Hawaii stands behind its record as a national leader in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the State will continue to pursue its ambitious climate goals."