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Can 'climate kids' take on governments and win?

By Katy Scott, CNN

Updated 10:51 PM ET, Tue July 24, 2018

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Children around the world are lobbying, marching and even suing their governments to take greater action against climate change. <br /><br />Over the weekend youth-led organization Zero Hour orchestrated three days of action, culminating with a youth climate march in Washington DC.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Zero Hour – Children around the world are lobbying, marching and even suing their governments to take greater action against climate change.

Over the weekend youth-led organization Zero Hour orchestrated three days of action, culminating with a youth climate march in Washington DC.
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Youth activists have been at the forefront of a number of climate lawsuits against governments, including the 21 young plaintiffs <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/29/politics/sutter-climate-kids-march-washington/index.html" target="_blank">suing the US government</a> for failing to address the climate crisis.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
United States – Youth activists have been at the forefront of a number of climate lawsuits against governments, including the 21 young plaintiffs suing the US government for failing to address the climate crisis.
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This group of young plaintiffs claims the administration is failing to protect their right to a habitable planet. The US Government has <a href="http://blogs2.law.columbia.edu/climate-change-litigation/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/case-documents/2018/20180717_docket-18A65_application.pdf" target="_blank">filed a motion</a> with the Supreme Court to halt the trial, which is set for 29 October.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
United States – This group of young plaintiffs claims the administration is failing to protect their right to a habitable planet. The US Government has filed a motion with the Supreme Court to halt the trial, which is set for 29 October.
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Earlier this year 25 young activists in Colombia <a href="http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/future-generation-v-ministry-environment-others/" target="_blank">successfully sued</a> their government, arguing that its failure to reduce deforestation in the Amazon threatened their constitutional rights to a healthy environment, life, food and water.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Colombia – Earlier this year 25 young activists in Colombia successfully sued their government, arguing that its failure to reduce deforestation in the Amazon threatened their constitutional rights to a healthy environment, life, food and water.
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In April, Colombia's Supreme Court <a href="http://blogs2.law.columbia.edu/climate-change-litigation/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/non-us-case-documents/2018/20180405_11001-22-03-000-2018-00319-00_decision-1.pdf" target="_blank">ordered</a> the government to take action to address deforestation in the Amazon.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Colombia – In April, Colombia's Supreme Court ordered the government to take action to address deforestation in the Amazon.
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In Norway, Greenpeace and Nature and Youth, pictured here, filed a <a href="http://blogs2.law.columbia.edu/climate-change-litigation/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/non-us-case-documents/2016/20161018_16-166674TVI-OTIR06_petition-1.pdf" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> against the Norwegian government, saying that it violated the constitution by issuing licenses for deep-sea oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Norway – In Norway, Greenpeace and Nature and Youth, pictured here, filed a lawsuit against the Norwegian government, saying that it violated the constitution by issuing licenses for deep-sea oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.
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However, the Oslo district court said the government's oil and gas plans were acceptable and <a href="http://blogs2.law.columbia.edu/climate-change-litigation/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/non-us-case-documents/2018/20180104_16-166674TVI-OTIR06_judgment-2.pdf" target="_blank">dismissed</a> the lawsuit in January this year. Greenpeace and Nature and Youth have since appealed the decision. <br /><br />Pictured here: Members of Norway's Nature and Youth in front of the Oslo district court.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Norway – However, the Oslo district court said the government's oil and gas plans were acceptable and dismissed the lawsuit in January this year. Greenpeace and Nature and Youth have since appealed the decision.

Pictured here: Members of Norway's Nature and Youth in front of the Oslo district court.
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In the US, 13 young plaintiffs are <a href="https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/washington" target="_blank">suing the State of Washington</a> for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, and equal protection of the law by creating and supporting a fossil fuel-based transportation and energy systems.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Washington D.C. – In the US, 13 young plaintiffs are suing the State of Washington for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, and equal protection of the law by creating and supporting a fossil fuel-based transportation and energy systems.
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Young activist and high school sophomore Jamie Margolin, pictured here, is one of the plaintiffs in the Washington case.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Washington D.C. – Young activist and high school sophomore Jamie Margolin, pictured here, is one of the plaintiffs in the Washington case.
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Teen activists Margolin and Nadia Nazar, both 16, co-founded climate justice group <a href="http://thisiszerohour.org/" target="_blank">Zero Hour</a> to demand greater action on climate change. The group organized a climate march in Washington DC and other cities on 21 July.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Zero Hour – Teen activists Margolin and Nadia Nazar, both 16, co-founded climate justice group Zero Hour to demand greater action on climate change. The group organized a climate march in Washington DC and other cities on 21 July.
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"We're not just marching and asking for a vague sense of justice, we have clear demands so our leaders have no excuse not to take action," Margolin tells CNN.
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Zero Hour – "We're not just marching and asking for a vague sense of justice, we have clear demands so our leaders have no excuse not to take action," Margolin tells CNN.
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Teen activist and Zero Hour organizer Kibiriti Majuto is a refugee living in Charlottesville, Virginia, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. <br /><br />"I am marching representing many young people in the global south who are most impacted by climate change even though they did little to contribute to the destruction of our planet," Majuto tells CNN.<br />
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Zero Hour – Teen activist and Zero Hour organizer Kibiriti Majuto is a refugee living in Charlottesville, Virginia, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"I am marching representing many young people in the global south who are most impacted by climate change even though they did little to contribute to the destruction of our planet," Majuto tells CNN.
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Fellow Zero Hour organizer, Madelaine Tew of New Jersey, adds: "I believe that what we're doing is so crucial because it really is zero hour; we either take action now, or the future of our generation will be jeopardized by the fossil fuel industry and the dormant generations before us."<br />
Photos: Climate kids around the world
Zero Hour – Fellow Zero Hour organizer, Madelaine Tew of New Jersey, adds: "I believe that what we're doing is so crucial because it really is zero hour; we either take action now, or the future of our generation will be jeopardized by the fossil fuel industry and the dormant generations before us."
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youth climate march zero houryouth v govoregon kids lawsuit climatecolombia youth dejusticiacolombia youth dejusticia 2nature and youth norwayNatur og Ungdom norwayour children's trust washington casejamie margolin capitol stepszero hour foundersjamie margolin zero hourkibiriti majuto zero hourmadelaine tew zero hour

(CNN)At Jamie Margolin's high school in Seattle, kids joke about inheriting a ticking time bomb.

"There's a lot of gallows humor within high schools," Margolin, 16, tells CNN. "It's a weird normalization of the fact that there's not much time left because of the climate crisis, and a lot of young people are just accepting it."
Around the time Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, Margolin decided she wouldn't just accept it.
"When you turn on the news, it's not like 'Hello, the world is ending and there's a short amount of time to fix it' ... Why is everyone not talking about this with urgency and dealing with it like the international emergency it is?"
    So, together with Nadia Nazar, 16, of Baltimore, she launched Zero Hour — an organization pledging to take "concrete action around climate change."
    Jamie Margolin at the Zero Hour headquarters.
    Jamie Margolin at the Zero Hour headquarters.
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    Last Thursday, youth volunteers from Zero Hour lobbied members of Congress in Washington, D.C., to sign a pledge to stop taking money from the fossil fuel industry.
    That was the start of a three-day campaign that also included an art protest and a youth climate march from the National Mall to Lincoln Park. Sister marches also took place in New York City and London.
    But Margolin's not just organizing marches, she's also willing to take her case to court.
    The young activist is one of the plaintiffs in a youth-led lawsuit against the state of Washington. They claim that the state has violated their constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, and equal protection of the law by creating and supporting a fossil fuel-based transportation and energy system.
    Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee's communications director, Jaime Smith, says that Inslee has helped promote vehicle electrification, investments in clean energy technology, and increased transit options.
    She adds: "the governor has made climate change one of his top priorities and agrees that more action is necessary to reduce carbon pollution."
    Like Margolin, other young people around the world are holding their governments legally responsible for the effects of climate change.
    Related: The kids suing Donald Trump over inaction on global warming
    "I chose to join the case because it sounded like something I could actually do," said Nick Venner, photographed in 2016 at age 15, from Lakewood, Colorado. "I think we have a really good chance of winning. It's hard for legal experts to deny the rights of young people. We are the future. They will be long gone before the long-term effects (of climate change) ever hit them. It's about my kids. It's about their grandkids."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "I chose to join the case because it sounded like something I could actually do," said Nick Venner, photographed in 2016 at age 15, from Lakewood, Colorado. "I think we have a really good chance of winning. It's hard for legal experts to deny the rights of young people. We are the future. They will be long gone before the long-term effects (of climate change) ever hit them. It's about my kids. It's about their grandkids."
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    Kelsey Juliana, 20, from Eugene, Oregon, has been involved in legal action over climate change for years. "It's a systems change we're asking for. And who are we asking it for? Everyone on the planet, especially the youth, the most unheard, the most disenfranchised," she said. "Almost all the kids in this case haven't voted ever -- and cannot vote. That's something I certainly think about, as one of the few who can vote."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Kelsey Juliana, 20, from Eugene, Oregon, has been involved in legal action over climate change for years. "It's a systems change we're asking for. And who are we asking it for? Everyone on the planet, especially the youth, the most unheard, the most disenfranchised," she said. "Almost all the kids in this case haven't voted ever -- and cannot vote. That's something I certainly think about, as one of the few who can vote."
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    "We live on a barrier island," said Levi Draheim, 9, from Florida's Space Coast. "If the sea rises, our (home) could just be underwater. And a couple of our reefs ... they're just almost gone. I can't even go to the beach. It gives me nightmares."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "We live on a barrier island," said Levi Draheim, 9, from Florida's Space Coast. "If the sea rises, our (home) could just be underwater. And a couple of our reefs ... they're just almost gone. I can't even go to the beach. It gives me nightmares."
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    Tia Hatton, 19, from Bend, Oregon, said she had to convince her family it was a good idea for her to take on the federal government. "I was late knowing about climate change. I lived in a conservative community. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I started thinking about it when the snow levels dropped in Bend. I'm a Nordic skier. All of a sudden, the puzzle started fitting together."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Tia Hatton, 19, from Bend, Oregon, said she had to convince her family it was a good idea for her to take on the federal government. "I was late knowing about climate change. I lived in a conservative community. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I started thinking about it when the snow levels dropped in Bend. I'm a Nordic skier. All of a sudden, the puzzle started fitting together."
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    "You feel like there's no point in fighting," said Aji Piper, 16, from Seattle. "But you have this knowledge. So you still fight against this because it's the only thing you can do." He said it's frustrating when people think he's only repeating information adults have fed to him. "I'm not regurgitating any of this information," he said. "I'm not stupid. These facts are overwhelmingly in one direction."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "You feel like there's no point in fighting," said Aji Piper, 16, from Seattle. "But you have this knowledge. So you still fight against this because it's the only thing you can do." He said it's frustrating when people think he's only repeating information adults have fed to him. "I'm not regurgitating any of this information," he said. "I'm not stupid. These facts are overwhelmingly in one direction."
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    Climate change is "something I worry about," said Avery McRae, 11, of Eugene, Oregon. "If we don't do something now, we have a very bad future ahead of us."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Climate change is "something I worry about," said Avery McRae, 11, of Eugene, Oregon. "If we don't do something now, we have a very bad future ahead of us."
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    "I do a lot of outdoor activities that will be affected by climate change," said Zealand Bell, photographed at age 12, from Eugene, Oregon. "I ski, raft, hike -- all sorts of stuff. We go up to Willamette Pass (to ski), and the last few years it's barely been open because of the lack of snow. It does sort of make me mad, but mostly I'm sad. We've affected our climate so much. We've done all of this."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "I do a lot of outdoor activities that will be affected by climate change," said Zealand Bell, photographed at age 12, from Eugene, Oregon. "I ski, raft, hike -- all sorts of stuff. We go up to Willamette Pass (to ski), and the last few years it's barely been open because of the lack of snow. It does sort of make me mad, but mostly I'm sad. We've affected our climate so much. We've done all of this."
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    Victoria Barrett, 17, from New York, said she's involved in the climate change lawsuit because "it's pertinent to literally the existence of humankind." "We're some of the people to be like, 'Yo, cut it out with that.' And if you don't do it, we're going to sue you to do it. ... It's really important to posterity what we're doing."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Victoria Barrett, 17, from New York, said she's involved in the climate change lawsuit because "it's pertinent to literally the existence of humankind." "We're some of the people to be like, 'Yo, cut it out with that.' And if you don't do it, we're going to sue you to do it. ... It's really important to posterity what we're doing."
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    Jamie Lynn Butler, 15, from Cameron, Arizona, said her family had to move off of a Navajo reservation because of searing droughts. One of the family's horses died from dehydration, she said. "Because of drought on the reservation and climate change there's less and less water. I don't want the next generation, and this generation, to keep losing things because of how we treat the planet."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Jamie Lynn Butler, 15, from Cameron, Arizona, said her family had to move off of a Navajo reservation because of searing droughts. One of the family's horses died from dehydration, she said. "Because of drought on the reservation and climate change there's less and less water. I don't want the next generation, and this generation, to keep losing things because of how we treat the planet."
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    Jacob Lebel, 19, lives and works on his family's farm in Roseburg, Oregon. "As farmers, the drought and heat waves (associated with climate change) make it harder to work. The fire season has just been crazy," he said. "We could lose everything."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Jacob Lebel, 19, lives and works on his family's farm in Roseburg, Oregon. "As farmers, the drought and heat waves (associated with climate change) make it harder to work. The fire season has just been crazy," he said. "We could lose everything."
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    Jayden Foytlin, 13, saw her home in Rayne, Louisiana, flood this year in a deadly storm directly linked to climate change. "I'm being affected, my generation is being affected, Louisiana is being affected by climate change," she said.
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Jayden Foytlin, 13, saw her home in Rayne, Louisiana, flood this year in a deadly storm directly linked to climate change. "I'm being affected, my generation is being affected, Louisiana is being affected by climate change," she said.
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    "We are in a climate emergency," Journey Zephier, who lives in Hawaii, said at a press conference in March. "The federal government and fossil fuel industry have known for over 50 years that their actions and the burning of fossil fuels would result in destabilizing the Earth's climate system."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "We are in a climate emergency," Journey Zephier, who lives in Hawaii, said at a press conference in March. "The federal government and fossil fuel industry have known for over 50 years that their actions and the burning of fossil fuels would result in destabilizing the Earth's climate system."
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    Isaac Vergun, photographed at age 14, of Beaverton, Oregon, said it bothers him when he sees people driving cars that are bigger than they need. "It hurts me," he said. "Even if they did a little something -- like not buy that car -- that would make a difference."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Isaac Vergun, photographed at age 14, of Beaverton, Oregon, said it bothers him when he sees people driving cars that are bigger than they need. "It hurts me," he said. "Even if they did a little something -- like not buy that car -- that would make a difference."
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    Hazel Van Ummersen is from Eugene, Oregon. She and her family "reduce their carbon footprint by gardening, recycling, buying local products, biking, and walking," according to court records.
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    Hazel Van Ummersen is from Eugene, Oregon. She and her family "reduce their carbon footprint by gardening, recycling, buying local products, biking, and walking," according to court records.
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    "The Arctic is being affected more than twice as fast as the Lower 48" states, said Nathan Baring, 16, from Fairbanks, Alaska. "We have the technology to make the change. It's the politics that's keeping us from it."
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "The Arctic is being affected more than twice as fast as the Lower 48" states, said Nathan Baring, 16, from Fairbanks, Alaska. "We have the technology to make the change. It's the politics that's keeping us from it."
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    "I've always been interested in my birth country," said Miko Vergun, 15, who was adopted from the Marshall Islands, in the Pacific. She now lives in Beaverton, Oregon. "I want to be able to go back -- but that would be really difficult right now because of climate change. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/06/opinions/sutter-two-degrees-marshall-islands/">It's possible the island will disappear</a>" because of rising sea levels.
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "I've always been interested in my birth country," said Miko Vergun, 15, who was adopted from the Marshall Islands, in the Pacific. She now lives in Beaverton, Oregon. "I want to be able to go back -- but that would be really difficult right now because of climate change. It's possible the island will disappear" because of rising sea levels.
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    "Even though I try to protect my natural resources and the climate system by biking, gardening, recycling, educating others about climate change, and practicing vegetarianism, I cannot protect the climate system for myself, and my family," Sahara Valentine of Eugene, Oregon, said in a court filing.<br />
    Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
    "Even though I try to protect my natural resources and the climate system by biking, gardening, recycling, educating others about climate change, and practicing vegetarianism, I cannot protect the climate system for myself, and my family," Sahara Valentine of Eugene, Oregon, said in a court filing.