Forty middle school students from Portland 21 teenagers are asking a US court to hold the government responsible for violating their constitutional rights to life , liberty , property and equal protection under the law as well as their right to benefit from the public good , which they argue includes the environment . The challenge is part of a larger group of cases being filed across the country by environmental group Our Children ’s Trust and others fighting the federal and state governments by seeking damages from climate change - related harms or citing a violation of the public trust doctrine , through which the government owns resources in trust for public use .
21 teenagers are asking a US court to hold the government responsible for violating their constitutional rights to life , liberty , property and equal protection under the law as well as their right to benefit from the public good , which they argue includes the environment . The challenge is part of a larger group of cases being filed across the country by environmental group Our Children ’s Trust and others fighting the federal and state governments by seeking damages from climate change - related harms or citing a violation of the public trust doctrine , through which the government owns resources in trust for public use .