Ontario’s top court to release decision in landmark youth-led climate case

Ontario’s top court is set to release its decision in a landmark youth-led Charter challenge of the provincial government’s climate change plan.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario heard arguments earlier this year brought by seven young people who say the province’s weakened emissions target is a violation of their constitutional rights.

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It’s the first case to be tried in Canada that considers whether climate change has the potential to violate Charter rights.

While an Ontario trial judge ruled that it did not, her decision agreed that the gap between how much emissions need to be cut globally and what the provincial plan calls for is “large, unexplained and without any apparent scientific basis.”

The young people brought evidence suggesting the government’s revised plan would allow for 30 megatonnes more in annual emissions by 2030, equivalent to the annual emissions of about 7 million passenger vehicles.

The Appeal Court’s decision is being closely watched by lawyers in another youth-led Charter challenge of Ottawa’s climate plan currently before the Federal Court.