MADISON, Wis.— Today, fifteen young Wisconsinites filed a constitutional climate lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court against the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Legislature. The youth plaintiffs—ages 8 to 17—are represented by Midwest Environmental Advocates and Our Children’s Trust. They argue that state laws that promote fossil fuels and block renewable energy violate their rights under the Wisconsin Constitution.
Dunn v. Wisconsin Public Service Commission challenges Wisconsin laws that prohibit the Public Service Commission from considering air pollution, including greenhouse gas pollution, when deciding whether to approve new fossil fuel power plants. (Wis. Stat. §§ 196.491(3)(d)3. and 4.) The lawsuit also challenges laws that prevent the Public Service Commission from requiring utilities to increase the amount of electricity the state gets from clean, renewable energy sources. (Wis. Stat. §§ 196.025(1)(c)1. and 196.378(4m)(a)).
Currently, about 75% of Wisconsin’s electricity comes from fossil fuels, and the Public Service Commission continues to approve new fossil fuel power plants—despite the state’s commitment to completely decarbonize the electricity sector no later than 2050, as necessary to ensure a safe and secure future for Plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs argue that the state’s active promotion of fossil fuels is harming their health, endangering their homes, and threatening their futures. The plaintiffs claim these laws infringe upon their constitutional rights to life and liberty—which includes health, safety and a stable climate—and their rights to access and enjoy healthy rivers and lakes under Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine.
“These laws force Wisconsin’s energy regulators to ignore the biggest crisis of our time,” said Nate Bellinger, Supervising Senior Staff Attorney at Our Children’s Trust and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Because of these unconstitutional laws, the Public Service Commission continues approving new fossil fuel-fired power plants while turning a blind eye towards Wisconsin’s smoke-filled skies, rising temperatures overflowing rivers, and harms to children’s physical and mental health. The youth plaintiffs, backed by their State Constitution and indisputable scientific evidence, are asking the courts to protect them from laws that perpetuate Wisconsin’s fossil fuel-dominated electricity sector and obstruct the needed transition to affordable and reliable renewable energy.”
The complaint details ongoing injuries to youth plaintiffs, including asthma worsened by the burning of fossil fuels, mental health trauma tied to climate anxiety, and loss of access to lakes and rivers central to their culture and well-being. Tribal youth plaintiffs describe disappearing wild rice beds and warming waters that undermine their ability to access traditional foods.
Tony Wilkin Gibart, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, said, “Our clients are asking the court to uphold their right to a livable future. This case is about whether they will inherit a future shaped by clean energy and a stable climate—or one burdened by fossil fuel pollution, extreme weather events and growing threats to their health and safety.”
The youth assert that by enacting and enforcing these statutes, the Public Service Commission and the Legislature are violating Article I, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution, which protects inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as Article IX, Section 1, which establishes the public trust duty to protect Wisconsin’s waters for present and future generations.
“The bluffs on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin brought my ancestors to this great state in the 1860s because of its beauty. However, as a result of the climate crisis in Wisconsin, the bluff where my family and I lived became unstable and dangerous, and we were forced to move,” said lead plaintiff Kaarina Dunn. “Living this trauma in my home state was almost unthinkable and is directly linked to climate change. This fight to protect my right to life and liberty, to a stable climate system, and to access and enjoy our rivers and lakes does not end with my actions. It begins with my state doing its job—protecting me and my fellow youth plaintiffs.”
The plaintiffs are not seeking financial compensation. Instead, they ask the court to declare the challenged laws unconstitutional, prevent the state from enforcing them, and restore the Public Service Commission’s ability to consider air pollution when regulating fossil fuel infrastructure.
“These laws force my government to ignore science and pollution—that’s wrong and unconstitutional,” said plaintiff Ted Schultz-Becker. “Young people have power, even when we can’t vote. Our voices matter, and we trust our Constitution and courts to protect us.”
If successful, the case would affirm the constitutional rights of youth to a safe climate and remove legal barriers to the required decarbonization of Wisconsin’s electricity sector—the greatest source of climate-heating greenhouse gas emissions in Wisconsin.
Learn more about this case here.
View the complaint.
View the press kit.
