A Landmark Victory in the Legal Fight Against Climate Change

Montana 's high court ruled that the state constitution protects residents against climate change.

Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discuss the case on this week 's bonus episode of Amicus Plus .

Stern: The Montana Constitution provides broader access to the state’s courts than the U.S. Constitution provides to federal courts.

Lithwick, Stern: It's laying the groundwork to limit permits that exacerbate climate change..

Montana delegates sought strongest, most all-encompassing environmental protections in the nation.

Their protections were designed to be, as the court put it, “anticipatory and preventative” for both “present and future generations.

Montana is n’t alone here: Hawaii also has a state constitutional provision that guarantees the right to a clean and healthful environment.