North Carolina Judge Rejects 13-Year-Old’s Climate Change Challenge

A judge has ruled against a 13-year-old girl who took North Carolina to court over climate change, but the eighth-grader says she’ll continue to fight for environmental protections.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports Hallie Turner learned Nov. 25 that Wake County Superior Court Judge Mike Morgan rejected her effort to overturn a decision by the state Environmental Management Commission.

Hallie is an eighth-grader who petitioned the commission almost a year ago, seeking a rule that would require North Carolina to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by at least 4 percent annually. Her attorneys say they don’t know why Morgan rejected her petition. His formal order is expected in a couple of weeks.

“It’s an issue that I’m always going to continue trying to make a difference in,” Hallie said. “There’s lots of next steps that can be taken.”

A member of the commission who rejected the petition said it was incomplete. He also said North Carolina law prohibits environmental agencies from enacting state laws stricter than federal law.

Instead, the commission adopted a rule to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at Duke Energy power plants by 0.4 percent, much less stringent than Hallie’s petition proposed. A strategy supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would require a 12 percent reduction by 2030.

Hallie encouraged people to attend a Dec. 17 hearing in Raleigh where the public can give feedback on the commission’s energy strategy.

“Climate change is too urgent for any of us to sit quietly while the state fails to take significant action,” she said.

She and her attorneys are considering several options, including an appeal of Morgan’s ruling or putting together a different petition that the commission could view as complete.

The case is one of several nationwide filed by minors pushing for action on climate change.

Topics Legislation North Carolina Climate Change Pollution