Federal Hearing in ‘Lighthiser v. Trump’ Concludes with Expert Testimony on Health, Energy, and Youth Harm
Contacts:
Julia Olson, Chief Legal Counsel, 415.786.4825, julia@ourchildrenstrust.org
Helen Britto, Comms. Associate Director, 925.588.1171, helen@ourchildrenstrust.org
Nicole Funaro, Media Relations Strategist, 203.435.1722, nfunaro@publicjustice.net
Economists, public health professionals, and renewable energy leaders warn of far-reaching dangers posed by executive orders that advance fossil fuels and suppress renewables
MISSOULA, M.T. — On the second day of the historic hearing in Lighthiser v. Trump, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana heard live testimony from leading experts in economics, public health, and renewable energy, as well as a young plaintiff from Missoula, Montana. Together, they laid out the immediate and long-term harms caused by the federal executive orders promoting fossil fuel development, obstructing clean energy, and silencing climate science.
Dr. Geoffrey Heal, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University and a world-renowned economist in the fields of energy and the environment, testified that there is no national energy emergency to justify the executive orders. Instead, he explained how the Executive Orders are economically harmful, undermining the reliability of energy supplies, weakening trade partnerships, and raising long-term costs on consumers and industry. He emphasized that renewable energy is now the most affordable energy option, stating, “renewable energy, as we’ve seen, is less expensive than fossil fuels or any other energy,” and the federal government’s suppression of clean energy will cause direct harm to the plaintiffs and public alike.
Nicole Hughes, Executive Director of Renewable Northwest, testified about how the challenged executive orders have blocked renewable energy development since January 2025. Hughes, who has over 20 years of experience in wind and solar energy policy and development, explained how clean energy projects are being delayed or denied due to federal obstruction, including the revocation of permits for previously permitted wind projects. She highlighted strong market demand for renewables and warned of long-term consequences to energy infrastructure and economic growth if the current policies remain in place, stating, “there’s a chance the utilities won’t be able to meet the new load growth in the region” if the demand for renewables is not met.
Dr. Lori Byron, a pediatrician with nearly four decades of experience caring for children in Montana, testified that the executive orders directly harm children’s health by exacerbating fossil fuel pollution and extreme weather events, emphasizing that children are uniquely and disproportionately affected by climate change. She detailed how these orders worsen physical and mental health harms already experienced by the plaintiffs, including increased rates of asthma, anxiety, hospitalizations, and other serious health conditions. She stated, “there is grave risk to these plaintiffs and to the youth and children by the concept of unleashing more fossil fuels ,” and warned, “Fossil fuel pollution is already killing 100,000 Americans every year.” Dr. Byron emphasized that children are especially vulnerable because they depend on adults to protect them from harm.
Plaintiff Isaiah, 17, Missoula, Montana, testified about the daily and growing impacts of climate change on his health, home, and future. He described worsening wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and decreased snowpack that have already disrupted his life and limited his ability to safely be outdoors. He shared that he and his family were forced to evacuate their home due to wildfire smoke that severely affected his younger brother’s lungs. He also spoke about the emotional toll of watching his home and surroundings change so rapidly, and the frustration of needing to advocate for his right to life while his government continues to harm him. “As a 17-year-old, I shouldn’t have to step in like this” When asked what he would like the court to do, he responded, “we’re simply asking them to stop these executive orders, which is a pretty simple but powerful request.”
In closing arguments, lead attorney Julia Olson delivered a heartfelt and powerful statement, tying together the evidence, constitutional principles, and the lived experiences of the youth plaintiffs: “One of the plaintiffs passed me this note,” Olson told the court. “And they wrote: ‘People get a choice about how fast they go on a highway. But we can’t choose how much coal is driven through my town.’ And that is what this case is about.”
She continued, emphasizing that the plaintiffs don’t get to choose the air they breathe, the fires that come through their towns, or the days they are hospitalized due to extreme heat. She warned that the federal government’s fossil fuel policies are harming the plaintiffs now and may ultimately cut their young lives short.
Olson argued that the Constitution provides protection against these harms and called on the Court to exercise its full authority:
“This court has jurisdiction, Your Honor, to do the job you have done for decades, to sit on the bench, review the evidence, review the policy and all of the legal arguments, and look at the precedent and do what judges did back in the 1950s in cases like Brown v. Board of Education, and said, ‘This hasn’t been done before….But I’m going to look and I’m going to measure these policies of segregation against the Constitution, even if it has broad implications, and this Court has the power to measure these specific policies.’
Next, the court will rule on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Defendants and Intervenors’ Motions to Dismiss. There is no timeline imposed by the Federal Rules on the District Court to rule on these matters.
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Our Children’s Trust was founded in 2010 on the idea that courts are vital to democracy and empowered to protect our children and the planet. Without a stable climate system, every natural resource we rely upon to exercise our basic human rights—life, liberty, home, happiness—is under threat. Our work will be achieved when there is universal recognition of children’s climate rights by courts around the world and children’s fundamental rights to life on this planet are protected. www.ourchildrenstrust.org
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