U.S. government, but not Trump, can be sued over climate: judge
Source: Reuters
POLITICS OCTOBER 15, 2018 / 3:57 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
U.S. government, but not Trump, can be sued over climate: judge
Tina Bellon
3 MIN READ
(Reuters) - A group of young Americans suing the federal government over lack of action to fight climate change can proceed with their lawsuit, but U.S. President Donald Trump cannot be named as a defendant, a federal judge ruled on Monday.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene, Oregon, came before the case is scheduled to go to trial in federal court on Oct. 29.
Twenty-one children and young adults, who were between 8 and 19 years of age when the lawsuit was filed in 2015 against the Obama administration, accused federal officials and oil industry executives of violating their due process rights by knowing for decades that carbon pollution poisons the environment, but doing nothing about it.
Aiken said the case revealed a delicate balance of power between the judicial and other government agencies. The judge said those concerns were not enough to warrant a dismissal of the entire case, but she concluded that the inclusion of Trump as the sitting U.S. president violated the proper separation of powers.
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-lawsuit/u-s-government-but-not-trump-can-be-sued-over-climate-judge-idUSKCN1MP2F8