MADISON, Wis. (WSAW) – Fifteen young people from across Wisconsin are suing the Wisconsin State Legislature and Public Service Commission over climate change.
The plaintiffs, who range in age from 8 to 17, hail from across the state, from Madison to Wausau to La Crosse and Minocqua. They are represented by Midwest Environmental Advocates and Our Children’s Trust, which filed the constitutional lawsuit on Friday in Dane County Court.
“Climate change is profoundly threatening,” Tony Wilkin Gibart, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates and an attorney on the case, said.
The lawsuit centers on the Public Service Commission, which regulates the approval of new power plant construction in Wisconsin. Currently, if Wisconsin gets at least 10% of its energy from renewable sources, then it is against state law for the Commission to consider air pollution when approving new power plants.
“It actually has its hands tied by the state law,” said Sarah Fox, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School. She noted that Wisconsin has more than met the threshold of 10% for a “long time.”
State law also prohibits the commission from requiring an increase in renewable energy production if the 10% mark is met.
“In Wisconsin, the executive and legislative levels have set a 100% renewable energy goal by 2050,” Fox said. “Those standards are clearly in tension with each other.”
The Public Service Commission declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. Midwest Environmental Advocates said it hopes to bring the case to trial within a year.
In Montana, a similar lawsuit was successful. In 2020, 16 young Montanans filed Held v. Montana, arguing the Montana Environmental Policy Act, which barred state agencies from considering the impacts of greenhouse gases, violated their constitutional rights. A court ruled in their favor, and the Montana Supreme Court upheld the decision in a 6-1 ruling.
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