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Climate Change

Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Lighthiser v. Trump Kids' Climate Suit

Yet another federal court opinion dismissing constitutional climate change claims.

Jonathan H. Adler | 6.3.2026 6:21 PM

Yesterday, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of Lighthiser v. Trump, the latest in a series of lawsuits filed on behalf of youth plaintiffs alleging that the federal government's failure to take meaningful action to mitigate climate change--and, in particular, the Trump Administration's promotion of fossil fuels--violate the U.S. Constitution.

The panel made quick work of the plaintiffs' claims in a brief, unpublished opinion. Despite the impressive roster of amici lined up to support their claims, the plaintiffs could not convince any of the three judges on the panel (Owens, Van Dyke, and Sung) that they had standing, or that the merits of their claims were worth discussing.

A central argument in this appeal was whether the plaintiffs could distinguish their case sufficiently from the Juliana case, which the Ninth Circuit had also dismissed on standing grounds. Unsurprisingly, the court did not find the effort to distinguish the cases convincing.

From the opinion:

1. Plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged that their asserted injuries are "caused by the challenged" Executive Orders. Juliana v. United States, 947 F.3d 1159, 1168 (9th Cir. 2020).1 According to the complaint, Plaintiffs will be harmed by numerous agency actions which, Plaintiffs allege, will "implement" the Executive Orders over several years. But Plaintiffs can only speculate that the Executive Orders are the cause of the many agency actions they allege will exacerbate climate change. See G.B. ex rel. G.P. v. EPA, 172 F.4th 1042, 1060 (9th Cir. 2026) ("[A]gencies consider a great number of … factors in determining when, what, and how to regulate or take agency action." (citation modified)); Clapper v. Amnesty Int'l USA, 568 U.S. 398, 412–14 (2013) (rejecting traceability theory premised on speculation that government surveillance would occur, if at all, under challenged authority rather than another). Furthermore, Plaintiffs........

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