Collaboration with other Organizations
Although CCL Maine is focused on carbon fee and dividend legislation we do collaborate with other local organizations and are constantly seeking new relationships. We are all in this boat together!
Here are several of our collaborative partnerships:
Here are several of our collaborative partnerships:
- Juliana vs United States will be heard June 4, 5 PM EST by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether the suit will go to trial. Sign up to receive a link to the livestream!
- No Ordinary Lawsuit, a podcast that will bring you behind the scenes of the Juliana v. United States lawsuit
- 60 Minutes episode: The climate change lawsuit that could stop the U.S. government from supporting fossil fuels
On behalf of all the world’s children, CCL Maine is collaborating with Our Children's Trust, a non-profit organization supporting youth and lawyers all over the globe in the development and pursuit of legal actions to compel science-based government efforts to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Twenty-one young people between the ages of 10 and 21 filed their constitutional climate lawsuit Juliana vs US in the district court of Oregon in 2015. The suit has withstood several challenges, and will be heard before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on June 4 . The plaintiffs are eager to present their case that the federal government through its affirmative actions that cause climate change, has violated the youngest generation's constitutional rights to life, liberty and property, as well as failed to protect essential public resources.
In Maine, a group of citizens – including almost 700 registered voters and approximately 370 youth – petitioned the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in 2018 to adopt rules to reduce Maine’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The goal of the petition is consistent with a 2003 law which established a long-term goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the State “sufficient to eliminate any dangerous threat to the climate. To accomplish this goal, reduction to 75% to 80% below 2003 levels may be required.” 38 M.R.S.A. § 576(3).
The petition for rulemaking was filed with DEP on January 24, 2018. A public hearing was held on May 15, 2018. The agency accepted additional comments through the end of July 2018. Following the close of the comment period, DEP had 120 days to adopt new rules according to the Maine Administrative Procedures Act. More than 120 days have now passed and DEP has not adopted the proposed climate change rules or formally responded to the petition. Supporters of the petition now have 6 months (until mid-May 2019) to challenge DEP’s failure to act in Superior Court.
Before pursuing legal action, however, Maine Climate Protectors will attempt to work cooperatively with Governor-elect Janet Mills and her new administration. Significantly, Governor-elect Mills campaigned on a promise “to reduce climate pollution 80 percent by 2030.”[1]
Toward this end, Maine Climate Protectors will endeavor to work with the legislature to strengthen Maine’s existing climate change law. They will also work with the new leadership at DEP (once he or she is identified) to adopt rules that ensure that Maine reduces its greenhouse gas emissions on a scale sufficient to avert disastrous consequences of climate change.
You can join Maine Climate Protectors in efforts to hold Governor Mills accountable for her promise to reduce climate pollution 80 percent by 2030! Start by sharing this status update and visit their website for future updates: www.maine-climate-protectors.org
Whereas Citizens’ Climate Lobby is working on a legislative solution to climate change, Our Children’s Trust is seeking a judicial solution to protect our children’s right to a habitable planet. Although we believe that a legislative solution is quicker and simpler, we are both working toward the same goal. One of the things that Our Children’s Trust has been doing brilliantly has been framing the climate change issue around the future of our youth- and letting youth themselves make the case for a livable future. Once America begins to see the climate issue as the inescapable issue of our children's future, things will begin to change quickly. If you have the opportunity to assist Our Children's Trust, please do so. We believe in the work that they are doing and want to help them succeed because we know that their success furthers their mission and ours.
