Summary/Abstract
This expert report was written by Lori G. Byron, M.D., M.S., and Robert G. Byron, M.D., M.P.H. and filed by plaintiffs in the case Held v. State of Montana.
In this report, the authors assess the impact of climate change on public health in Montana, with a particular focus on impacts to children and the youth plaintiffs. The authors review literature addressing the health impacts of extreme heat and heatwaves, extreme weather events, and climate change-related air pollution like wildfire smoke. The authors conclude “that climate change and the air pollution associated with it are negatively affecting children in Montana, including these 16 youth Plaintiffs, with a strong likelihood that those impacts will worsen in the absence of aggressive actions to mitigate climate change.”
In a subsequent rebuttal expert report, filed by plaintiffs on November 28, 2022, the authors respond to the expert reports of Dr. Terry Anderson and Dr. Judith Curry, filed on behalf of the State of Montana, and reiterate the conclusion of their September 30, 2022 expert report.
The underlying case, Held v. State of Montana, arose when, on March 13, 2020, sixteen young people filed a lawsuit in a state court in Montana, United States, asserting climate change-based claims under the Montana constitution against the State of Montana, its governor, and state agencies. In particular, the case challenged the constitutionality of Montana’s fossil fuel-based State Energy Policy and the “Climate Change Exception” in the Montana Environmental Policy Act. For more information about this case, visit the Sabin Center’s Climate Litigation Database.
Note: This climate attribution research was presented in the context of a contested legal proceeding. Different countries, courts, and legal forums may have different standards for expert testimony, and may conduct fact-finding based on legal standards of proof that differ from those applied in academic publishing. Readers should independently investigate and understand the bases for the assertions made in this document before applying this research in other contexts.