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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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The Greening of State Constitutions
Courts play an increasingly important role in enforcing states’ environmental rights amendments.
State Courts Confront Climate Change
Two lawsuits seek relief from climate change using state constitutions.
Scholarship Roundup: Giving State Law Its Due
State institutions have a major impact on people’s everyday lives — often more than their federal counterparts.
Hawaii Supreme Court Takes on the Climate Crisis
The court decision gives teeth to the state constitution’s promise of a “clean and healthful environment.”