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Children win fight for clean air - 4th September 2023
A group of 16 young people in the US have just won a fight against their state, Montana. They were fighting about climate change. They said it made their lives worse. For them, the state was responsible, and so they went to court.
It was the first time for a case like this to be successful. The young people were aged 5-22 and were extremely happy to win.
The law in Montana requires that there's a healthy environment for everyone. The young people understood and used this law.
For the last 20 years, Montana's had very heavy rain and also dry periods, often with fires. In court, one young person remembered how smoke stopped people playing football.
The judge agreed that climate change damaged the young people's lives. But it wasn't an easy decision. Montana's the USA's fourth largest producer of coal. Many people still work in the industry.
There are other options for the state. Outdoor leisure is already a $7.1 billion industry. And green energy's another area of interest.
Similar court cases will soon take place in Utah, Hawaii and Alaska, and in other countries. This win could be the first of many across the world.
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