Our Children’s Trust (“OCT”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization elevating the voice of youth around the globe to secure the legal right to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate system. We support youth climate advocates in legal actions against federal and state governments, advancing constitutional and public trust rights to a safe climate.

We seek court ordered implementation, by federal and state governments, of systemic science-based Climate Recovery Plans that will reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations to below 350 parts per million before the year 2100, in accordance with scientific prescriptions for climate stabilization.

“THE MOST IMPORTANT LAWSUIT ON THE PLANET” Our Children’s Trust supports the 21 young people at right, and Dr. James Hansen as Guardian for future generations, in the ground-breaking constitutional climate recovery lawsuit against the U.S. government. The case is awaiting trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, and is entitled Juliana v. United States & President Donald Trump, et al. Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein call this case “the most important lawsuit on the planet.”

Historic Constitutional Climate Ruling in Youths’ Favor: The U.S. District Court has already found in favor of the youth plaintiffs theory of the case, ruling for the first time in history, in November, 2016, that:

1. The U.S. Constitution secures the fundamental right to a climate system capable of sustaining life; and

2. The Court has authority to order the U.S. government to implement a science-based national climate recovery plan to stabilize our climate system and protect natural resources upon which future generations depend.

Youth Win Rulings at Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court also: The U.S. Government has tried relentlessly to dismiss Juliana v U.S. and to have the historic constitutional rulings referenced above undone on appeal. Three times in 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled resoundingly against three separate government efforts to do so, finding in favor of the youth that their case should advance to trial. Also in 2018, the government filed two highly unusual and multi-pronged efforts to have even the U.S. Supreme Court intervene to stop the case before trial! On July 30, and again on November 2, the U.S. Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the youth, just as the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals had done, again refusing to halt the case. Nonetheless, the October 29 start date, set by the U.S. District Court for the 10 -12 week trial to begin, was put off and the full Juliana trial is again being delayed as the U.S. Court of Appeals considers the government's recent interlocutory appeal of some of the U.S. District Court’s rulings. Simultaneously, the youth plaintiffs have requested that the U.S. District Court advance the trial court proceedings on matters not associated with the interlocutory appeal, including consideration of a preliminary injunction to guard against irreparable harm the youth will experience if a remedy to the government’s constitutional violations is not timely implemented respecting these time-sensitive climate issues.

At trial, 18 preeminent international experts will testify in support of the youths’ case. Indisputable evidence will demonstrate that for more than 50 years, the U.S. Government has known that CO2 pollution from burning fossil fuels causes global warming and destabilizes the climate system on which all present and future generations depend. Despite this knowledge, the U.S. government actively promoted fossil fuel production, consumption and pollution for decades and failed to implement its own plans to reduce CO2 pollution in accordance with scientific prescriptions known to it. As a result, atmospheric CO2 increased dramatically, creating the grave climate destabilization and ocean acidification we face today. This federal lawsuit puts climate science squarely in front of the federal judiciary and asks the court to protect constitutional and public trust rights to a sustainable future. With the evidence strongly in their favor, the youth are well positioned to secure the remedy they seek: a court order that the U.S. government immediately develop and implement a national science-based climate recovery plan to stabilize our climate system and return atmospheric CO2 concentrations to below 350 parts per million before the year 2100.

ACTIONS AGAINST OTHER NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS

To achieve coordinated science-based climate mitigation policy in individual states and in other nations, Our Children’s Trust also supports related youth climate actions against other national and state governments. Youth-led actions are now advancing in the national courts of India, Pakistan, Uganda, in the state courts of Oregon, Alaska, Washington, North Carolina, Florida and Colorado, and in several state administrative agencies. Underlying these actions are state and global domestic court rulings from related cases supporting government climate action, many brought by youth with the support of OCT. OCT is also actively working with youth and lawyers in multiple additional state and global domestic jurisdictions, to coordinate filing of additional parallel constitutional and public trust legal actions against those governments in the near future, each seeking court mandated science-based government action to mitigate the climate crisis.

ELEVATING THE YOUTH VOICE IN THE MEDIA AND IN OUR COMMUNITIES

In tandem with the legal actions supported by Our Children’s Trust, we also seek to increase public awareness of the urgency of the climate crisis and the constitutional and public trust legal solutions to that crisis. We do this through our media, public education and organizing work. Recent major media outlet coverage of our work includes: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, New York Times, CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, Outside, Think Progress, Washington Examiner, Reuters, The Guardian, Weather Channel, National Geographic.

On October 28-29, 2018, we coordinated rallies in support of the Juliana lawsuit in all 50 states and in several international venues to bring attention to what was to be the first day of the Juliana trial on October 29. In doing so, we demonstrated global support for the Juliana youth plaintiffs, and brought attention to the constitutional right to a safe climate system, and the Science-Based National Climate Recovery Plan the youth seek in their lawsuit. Additionally, we are producing a multi-segment podcast, No Ordinary Lawsuit, telling the story of the Juliana case and the youth, science and law involved. At a minimum, critical court hearings and oral arguments will be held in the Juliana case in early-mid 2019. At each significant court event, we will rally again and the podcast will track the story of the case. Once to trial, we will host press conferences after each day of the 10 - 12 week Juliana trial, to ensure that the public is aware of the “trial of the century” and the constitutional impacts it will have on their futures and those of the children in their lives.

THANKS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

We are deeply grateful for the support of many in the work of Our Children’s Trust. Without that support, we could not have made the progress we have thus far, nor could we advance all of our efforts in the critical year ahead. To support these youth, please consider a donation to Our Children’s Trust. Donate online, or send a check payable to “Our Children’s Trust” to the address below. We are extremely grateful for your consideration. Please contact Lou Helmuth, Deputy Director, at lou@ourchildrenstrust.org, should you have any questions at all. We would be pleased to discuss the work in more detail with you. With the help of all, together, we will resolve the climate crisis before it is too late. Thank you.

P.O. Box 5181 Eugene, OR 97405 541-375-0158 info@ourchildrenstrust.org Federal Tax ID # 27-3094382