A federal appeals court has informed 22 young plaintiffs that their concerns about climate change are noted, appreciated, and utterly powerless in court. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit threw out the kids' lawsuit challenging President Trump's executive orders on energy policy, ruling that federal judges lack the authority to grant the requested relief.
The panel - comprising U.S. Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke (Trump appointee), U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Sung (Biden appointee), and U.S. Circuit Judge John Owens (Obama appointee) - unanimously agreed that the children and young adults have no legal standing to sue over claims that the policies endanger their health and the climate. "Issuing such an injunction would effectively place one federal district court in charge of executive branch energy policy," the court wrote, apparently concerned about giving a single judge the kind of power the executive branch already exercises daily.
A year ago, the young Americans sued the Trump administration over two Day 1 executive orders and another signed in April 2025 that prioritize fossil fuel production, declare a national energy emergency, and roll back previous climate policies. Tuesday's ruling sidesteps the question of whether Trump is acting beyond his authority; instead, it agrees with U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen (Obama appointee) that the plaintiffs lack standing - failing to show a concrete injury that the court could remedy. "Plaintiffs can only speculate that the Executive Orders are the cause of the many agency actions they allege will exacerbate climate change," the panel noted, apparently requiring a signed affidavit from a melting glacier.
The decision echoes a 2015 lawsuit by young Americans against the federal government, which was also dismissed for lack of standing, with the Supreme Court declining to hear the appeal last year. The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for the plaintiffs for comment, though we suspect the response will be something along the lines of "we'll be back, probably with more kids."