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Environment
Beginning in the 1970s, several states added environmental rights amendments, also known as “Green Amendments,” to their constitutions. The wording of the amendments can be as broad as the right to a “clean and healthful environment,” or it can enumerate specific rights such as clean air, clean water, or aesthetic environmental values.
Some constitutions allow citizens to enforce environmental quality rights against the government and private parties. This is an active field of state constitutional litigation, especially as citizens sue state governments to force action against climate change.
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Fifty Unique, Ever-Changing State Constitutions
Interview: The Movement Toward ‘Green Amendments’ in State Constitutions
Montana Court’s Groundbreaking Climate Change Ruling
Modernizing State Constitutions Helps Judges Do Their Jobs
Catching Up with State Courts
The Greening of State Constitutions
State Courts Confront Climate Change
Montana Lawsuit Confronts States’ Responsibility for Climate Change
The trial will show the obstacles to enforcing environmental provisions in state constitutions.