Do children have a right to a healthy climate? Montana case is a test.

Ever since she was a freshman at Colorado College, Rikki Held has been waiting for today. 

It’s not her graduation; that happened a few weeks ago. This is something else – the day when a major lawsuit that bears her name, Held v. Montana, goes to trial. It marks the first time that young people in the United States have gotten a chance in court to demand the right to a stable climate. As such, it’s a key moment in what has become a global effort by children to use litigation to demand government action – and potentially affect public opinion – on climate change.

“I didn’t think it would be this long at all,” Ms. Held said in an interview before the beginning of the trial, in which 16 young plaintiffs, ages 5 to 22, claim Montana’s continued support of fossil fuels violates the state’s constitutional promise to “maintain