A Florida Circuit Court dismissed a lawsuit in which youth plaintiffs alleged that the Florida Public Service Commission violated their rights under the Florida Constitution by classifying as suitable utilities’ Ten-Year Site Plan reviews that projected use of fossil fuels. The court found that the plaintiffs’ claims were “nearly identical” to claims dismissed in an earlier case, <a href="https://www.climatecasechart.com/collections/reynolds-v-florida_f9af47">Reynolds v. State</a>. As in that case, the court concluded that this case must be dismissed under the political question and separation of powers doctrines. The court found that the plaintiffs’ claims focused on policy decisions reserved for the Florida Legislature such as the type of fuel to be used to generate electricity and the effects of pollution. The court also found that the plaintiffs “failed to cite any manageable standard” to guide the court in determining whether the Commission’s decisions violated the Constitution. In addition, the court found that the plaintiffs’ alleged climate change-related injuries did not satisfy standing requirements for causation and redressability.

Lawsuit asserting that the Florida Public Service Commission's oversight of utilities violated the plaintiffs' fundamental and inalienable rights to life under the Florida Constitution.

Barreto v. Florida Public Service Commission

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Florida Court Dismissed Youth Plaintiffs’ Climate Case Against Public Service Commission

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Florida Court Dismissed Youth Plaintiffs’ Climate Case Against Public Service Commission

Policy instrument

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Economic sector