FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Helen Britto, Communications Director, Our Children’s Trust, helen@ourchildrenstrust.org, 925.588.1171
Peg Sheaffer, Communications Director, Midwest Environmental Advocates, PSheaffer@midwestadvocates.org, 608.247.9684
MADISON, WI—Yesterday, fifteen youth plaintiffs represented by Our Children’s Trust and Midwest Environmental Advocates filed their appeal in Dunn v. Wisconsin Public Service Commission, a constitutional climate case challenging Wisconsin laws that promote fossil fuels, exacerbate the climate crisis, and violate the constitutional rights of Wisconsin youth to a life, liberty, a safe and stable climate, and their access to and enjoyment of public trust waters.
In an April decision dismissing the case, Dane County Circuit Judge Julie Genovese said she was sympathetic to the plaintiffs but concluded that their claims presented a ‘political question’ beyond judicial review. The appeal filed directly challenges that conclusion.
“A boulder crashed into my backyard. Floods washed out my driveway. My family was forced to leave the home and community we loved because of the climate crisis. The court said that harm is real, but then refused to protect us,” said lead plaintiff Kaarina Dunn. “Wisconsin is a state worth fighting for; its rivers, its land, its winters, and every person here has a constitutional right to enjoy it. That is exactly why we are appealing. Wisconsin children deserve more than sympathy. We deserve to have our day in court.”
Dunn v. Wisconsin Public Service Commission challenges Wisconsin laws that prohibit the Public Service Commission from considering air pollution—including greenhouse gas pollution—when deciding whether to approve new fossil fuel power plants. The lawsuit also challenges laws that prevent the Public Service Commission from requiring utilities to increase the amount of electricity the state gets from clean, renewable energy sources.These laws have allowed fossil fuels to dominate Wisconsin’s energy landscape. Today, roughly 75% of the state’s electricity still comes from fossil fuels, even as Wisconsin has committed to fully decarbonizing its electricity sector by 2050 and as renewable energy is the cheapest form of electricity.
These laws infringe upon the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights to life and liberty—which includes health, safety and a stable climate—and their rights to access and enjoy healthy rivers and lakes under Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine.
The initial complaint, filed in August 2025, details ongoing injuries to the youth plaintiffs, including asthma worsened by the burning of fossil fuels, and loss of access to lakes and rivers central to their culture and well-being. Tribal youth plaintiffs describe disappearing wild rice beds and warming waters that undermine their ability to access traditional foods.
“Courts exist to protect people from unconstitutional government conduct–especially children, and especially when the harm is real and ongoing,” said Nate Bellinger, Supervising Senior Staff Attorney at Our Children’s Trust and lead attorney for the plaintiffs. These youth are suffering heat exhaustion, watching floods cut them off from waters their families have relied on for generations, and being forced from their homes. The political question doctrine does not shield unconstitutional laws from judicial review, and it does not apply here. These young people deserve their day in court, and this appeal is about making sure they get it.”
“This case is about constitutional rights, not political questions,” said Midwest Environmental Advocates Executive Director Tony Wilkin Gibart. “The state laws we are challenging are contributing to climate change and causing real, concrete harm to our clients. That is a direct violation of their rights under the Wisconsin Constitution, which state courts have both the authority and the obligation to address.”
