Sponsors (11)
The resolution elevates children's right to a stable climate and bolsters scientific and public-health grounds for climate action, while creating legal and economic uncertainty by framing those rights in strong federal terms that could prompt litigation and costly regulatory responses.
Children and young people: would be recognized as having a right to a stable climate, creating a federal policy basis to prioritize actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their behalf.
Children, low-income individuals, and communities: climate-driven harms are framed as public-health emergencies for children, strengthening the rationale for future health, adaptation, and protective funding or programs.
Students, educators, and researchers: affirms the scientific consensus on climate change and federal responsibility to preserve access to government climate data, helping protect reliable information for policymaking and education.
Federal agencies and state governments: the strong constitutional-style framing of children's climate rights could invite novel legal claims against federal actions, creating legal uncertainty and potential fiscal liabilities for government actors.
Taxpayers and businesses: the bill's cited findings and projections could be contested or used to justify costly regulatory actions or litigation, with economic impacts on taxpayers, small businesses, and industry.
Vulnerable households and communities: emphasizing disproportionate harms to marginalized groups implies potential future targeted regulations (e.g., permitting, land use, energy costs) that could change costs or access for racial/ethnic minorities, low-income households, and rural communities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expresses findings criticizing executive energy/environment actions and affirms children's right to a stable climate; nonbinding and does not change law.
Official title: Recognizing a health and safety emergency disproportionately affecting the fundamental rights of children due to the Trump administration's directives that unleash fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, while suppressing climate change science.
Introduced July 16, 2025 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress July 16, 2025
Declares congressional findings that criticize recent executive actions on energy and the environment, asserts children’s right to a stable climate and access to climate science, and urges a transition to clean energy. The resolution is a nonbinding statement of policy and findings — it does not change law, create new programs, or impose requirements on agencies or states.