A group of young state residents have sued Wisconsin for its use of fossil fuels.
The lawsuit filed on August 22 in the Circuit Court of Dane County, Wisconsin targets the Public Service Commission and the state legislature.
The kids are ages 8 to 17 are represented by Our Children’s Trust and Midwest Environmental Advocates.
The lawsuit challenges Wisconsin laws that prohibit the Public Service Commission from considering climate and air pollution when considering whether to approve new fossil fuel power plants. It aims to prohibit the PSC from requiring utilities to increase the amount of electricity they get from clean, renewable sources.
The lawsuit claims that air pollution and extreme weather caused by climate change have violated the group's constitutional rights to life and liberty.
Wisconsin must protect its waterways for public use under the Public Trust Doctrine, the lawsuit said. It claims that the government facilitates this harm through laws enacted by the Legislature and enforced by the PSC.
Dunn v PSC Complaint 8.22.25 by scott.mcclallen
The 15 plaintiffs claim to have experienced harm from what they claim is related to climate change. These so-called injuries include asthma and respiratory illness, flooding, mental health trauma, extreme weather events, the inability to access traditional tribal foods like wild rice, and loss of access to lakes and rivers central to recreation, culture, and family life.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the challenged statutes unconstitutional under the Wisconsin Constitution.
It seeks for the court to prohibit the PSC from enforcing those statutes, restoring its ability to consider air pollution and climate impacts, and deny permits for new fossil fuel power plants.
It wants to require that more electricity come from renewable sources so that the state can decarbonize its electricity sector - often called "net zero." But the state consumes almost six times as much energy as the state produces, according to the EIA. In 2023, renewable resources provided 9% of Wisconsin's in-state electricity net generation.
In 2023, natural gas fueled 43% of the state's total net electricity generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Coal contributed 32% of the state’s total electricity net generation, down from 50% in 2018. The Point Beach nuclear power plant supplied about 15% of the state's net generation in 2023.
This month, a South Carolina Judge dismissed a lawsuit with prejudice brought against 24 oil companies.
“Under Plaintiff’s theory, virtually anyone could be a plaintiff – and a defendant – in what would effectively amount to a perpetual series of lawsuits that reset after every storm,” he wrote.
The lawsuit blamed the oil companies for climate change.
“If these lawsuits were successful, municipalities, companies, and individuals across the country could bring suits for injuries after every weather event,” the judge wrote. “The list of potential plaintiffs is unbounded. Moreover, under Plaintiff’s theory, there is no reason to limit the universe of potential defendants to energy companies alone.”
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