Svitak v. Washington

The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a public trust doctrine case brought by minor children and their guardians to force Washington to accelerate its greenhouse gas reductions. The appellate court ruled that the claims presented a political question that must be left to the legislature to address (particularly where, as in this case, the legislature had already addressed greenhouse gas emissions), and that the issue of the state’s alleged inaction was not justiciable because there were no specific alleged constitutional or statutory violations.