Young Alaskans are suing the state over a gas project they say threatens their future

Eight young Alaskans sued the state on Wednesday in an attempt to block a large gas project, the latest in a string of climate crisis-related lawsuits by young people who argue that government policies promoting fossil fuels violate their rights.

The lawsuit in state court in Anchorage, brought by a group of plaintiffs ranging in age from 11 to 22, alleges that the Alaska law ordering the project violates their due process rights and other constitutional protections, causing the release of greenhouse gases that harm their health and livelihood.

Several other young people’s climate change lawsuits have recently been dismissed, including two lawsuits against the federal government and two previous cases in Alaska. A similar case involving young Hawaiian plaintiffs is expected to go to trial next month, and the plaintiffs also amended one of the dismissed federal cases.

In the last case heard, which was dismissed in 2022, the Alaska Supreme Court said courts could not impose sweeping policy changes.

The latest lawsuit is narrower than previous Alaska cases that challenged broad state policies supporting fossil fuels. Focusing on a specific project, the plaintiffs said the latest lawsuit is consistent with previous court rulings.

“Alaska’s youth are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and their future depends on a rapid transition away from fossil fuels,” Andrew Welle, an attorney at the nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust, which represents the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor in an email called the lawsuit “misguided” and said liquefied gas development in the state “is subject to the most stringent environmental standards in the world.” Taylor expressed confidence that the courts would follow the law.

The Alaska LNG Corporation project includes a more than 800-mile pipeline that will cut the state in half and transport up to 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day from the state’s oil-rich North Slope to Alaska communities and an export terminal south of Juneau. The development agency said the project, worth about $39 billion, is expected to be operational by 2030.

The young plaintiffs said in their lawsuit that climate change is already causing them breathing problems due to wildfire smoke, as well as limiting their ability to hunt and fish for a living, among other alleged harms. They said the Alaska LNG project would worsen climate change.

The lawsuit asked the court to block the implementation of the Alaska LNG project and declare that the law ordering its implementation is unconstitutional. They also asked the court to declare that Alaska’s constitution includes a right to a life-sustaining climate system.