ELR Citation: 42 ELR 20210
No(s). A12-0585 (Minn. Ct. App. Oct 1, 2012)

A Minnesota appellate court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing an individual's lawsuit against the state for violating the public trust doctrine with respect to climate change. In his complaint, the individual alleged that the state's commitment to a 15% reduction in Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2015 via the Next Generation Energy Act of 2007 fell far short of the reductions necessary to adequately deal with climate change, and that the state therefore violated its public trust responsibility. But under Minnesota law, the public trust doctrine applies only to navigable waters, not to the atmosphere. The individual provided no legal support for his argument to the contrary, and the court is not aware of any instance in which a court has expanded the scope of the public trust doctrine to include the atmosphere. The complaint therefore failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.