In the continuing drama of Held v The State of Montana, the Montana Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the state and allowed their previous opinion to remain in place.
"The State of Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and Montana Department of Transportation (State) appeal from the August 14, 2023 Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order (Order) of the First Judicial District Court. The District Court declared §§ 75-1-201(2)(a), and -201(6)(a)(ii), MCA, unconstitutional and enjoined the State from acting in accordance with them. We affirm."
The beginning of the court's reasoning is below.
The world is experiencing a fast rise in temperature that is unprecedented in the geologic record, with the average global temperature increasing by 2.2°F in the last 120 years.[1] Montana is heating faster than the global average and the rate of warming is increasing. Overwhelming scientific evidence and consensus shows that this warming is the direct result of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that trap heat from the sun in the atmosphere, primarily from carbon dioxide (CO2) released from human extraction and burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These emissions accumulate in the atmosphere and may persist for hundreds of years—causing atmospheric CO2 levels to increase from 280 parts per million (ppm) in pre-industrial times to above 424 ppm today.
