Supreme Court will not weigh in on climate change suit, for now

Children and young adults suing the federal government for allegedly failing to act on knowledge of threats posed by climate change may continue with their lawsuit, despite efforts on the part of the Department of Justice to get the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said in an order Monday the government's request for a stay in the litigation was premature while describing the breadth of the plaintiffs' claims as "striking."

"[T]he justiciability of those claims presents substantial grounds for difference of opinion," Kennedy said.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 against the Obama administration in Oregon federal court. It alleges the government knew for decades that fossil fuel emissions could seriously damage the earth's environment and failed to stop increases of gas emissions past dangerous levels. Plaintiffs say the inaction violates their due process and public trust rights.

Since President Donald Trump took office in 2017, his Justice Department has tried to defeat the suit, which names the president and many agency heads as defendants.

When U.S. District Judge Ann L. Aiken denied the government's request for summary judgment and declined to certify an appeal, the DOJ requested through a writ of mandamus the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order the case dismissed.

The 9th Circuit in March declined, suggesting the government was being impatient. Weeks ago, the 9th Circuit denied a second mandamus request from the DOJ, again indicating the government was too hasty in requesting appellate intervention. U.S. v. USDC-ORE, 2018 DJDAR 7109 (9th Cir. July 20, 2018).

The Justice Department has lamented the discovery burdens the case poses, but the 9th Circuit noted both times how little the government's lawyers have done to narrow the scope of the case.

In the Monday order, Kennedy said Aiken should consider the discovery burdens and act expediently in ruling on the government's pending dispositive motions.