Synopsis
In August 2025, 15 youth plaintiffs between the ages of 8 to 17 in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) and Wisconsin Legislature, challenging state laws that restrict renewable energy use and promote fossil fuels, violating their constitutional rights to a stable climate and to use and enjoy Wisconsin’s rivers and lakes.
Why It Matters for Public Health
Article 1, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution states that residents have "rights to life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The youth plaintiffs argue that this statement includes the right to a healthy environment and physical safety, and that state laws promoting fossil fuel use will harm their health, safety, personal security, and bodily integrity, which are protected under this provision.
The Wisconsin Constitution also declares that it is the state’s duty to protect public resources, including its waters, for current and future generations. It requires the government to prevent substantial impairment and environmental degradation, and climate change is already worsening droughts, flooding, and toxic algal blooms across Wisconsin’s rivers and lakes.
This case also declares an inherent right to a stable climate system, similar to the cases recently recognized by courts in Hawaii and Montana.
Background
Many children in the United States are growing up with health risks resulting from climate change. In August 2025, 15 youth in Wisconsin between the ages of 8 and 17 filed a complaint with the Circuit Court for Dane County, challenging state laws that “create and perpetuate a fossil fuel-dominated electricity sector, which contributes to climate change, harms Plaintiffs, and infringes on Plaintiffs’ inherent rights to life, liberty, and a stable climate system.” Plaintiffs argue that these rights are guaranteed in Article 1, Section 1 and Article 9 of Wisconsin’s Constitution.
The challenged laws prohibit using air pollution as a measure for denying permits to new fossil fuel-fired power plants and set a ceiling on how much renewable energy generation the Commission can require electric providers to supply. These laws promote fossil fuel use despite Wisconsin’s pledge to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050.
The plaintiffs are turning to the Wisconsin Constitution to protect their futures and the future of the state’s natural resources.
Litigation Status (OPEN)
The plaintiffs’ filed their complaint on August 22, 2025. The plaintiffs filed their complaint on August 22, 2025. On November 10th, the defendants filed motions to dismiss. The plaintiffs filed a combined opposition to the motions to dismiss. The Public Health Law Center co-authored an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ opposition to the defendants’ motion to dismiss.
On April 23, 2026, the Circuit Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case, stating that the plaintiffs’ claims raise a nonjusticiable political question. On May 28, the Plaintiffs filed a notice to appeal the Court’s granting of defendants’ motions to dismiss.