Canada’s highest court is set to decide today whether it will hear arguments in a trailblazing climate change lawsuit that could clarify whether governments are constitutionally required to tackle planet-warming emissions.
The decision could set the stage before the Supreme Court of Canada in a case where seven young people have challenged Ontario’s weakened climate target.
The group has argued the revised target commits the province to dangerously high greenhouse gas levels, in a way that jeopardizes their right to life and forces them to bear the brunt of future climate impacts.
The case is the first in Canada where a court, in a full hearing, considered whether a government climate plan could violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Ontario asked the Supreme Court of Canada to weigh in on the case, saying it raises questions of national importance about whether governments are constitutionally required to fight climate change.
The case began in 2019, when 12-year-old Sophia Mathur and six other young people joined together to challenge Ontario’s watered-down emissions target.
Legal experts say the case could fundamentally alter how governments are held to account on climate change.
Before this case, courts had dismissed citizen-led Charter challenges of climate targets on preliminary grounds, often because they found them to be too broad or too political.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025.
