Now, the youth group may not proceed with some of their challenges, since the Legislature has significantly changed the statute on energy policy since the complaint was filed. The claims, Justice Diana Hagen wrote in the opinion, can’t be judged by the court “because they are not supported by a concrete set of facts. The youth plaintiffs identify general categories of conduct without tying their claims to any specific government actions.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox commended the decision during his monthly news conference broadcast by PBS Utah, describing the claims as “frivolous,” and arguing that innovation — and not regulation — is key to securing the state’s energy future and decarbonizing the atmosphere.

“The radical agenda of the extreme environmental movement, it has proven itself a failure, hasn’t helped the environment at all,” Cox said on Thursday. “In fact, it’s doing more destruction to the environment.”

Cox said that the permitting policies environmentalists advocate for and these kinds of lawsuits only delay projects, including adding transmission lines, without saving any trees or animals.

“Let’s unleash the ingenuity of Americans so that we can protect the environment and have enough energy for our citizens,” Cox said.

But, the broad claims filed by the youth group can be amended, which they see as a partial win, according to a news release from Our Children’s Trust, a public interest law firm representing the group.

Natalie R., who led the youth group in the suit, said they remain firm in their demand for the state to use its authority to reject fossil fuel development, and committed to continue to pursue the challenges.

“There’s much to celebrate in today’s opinion. The decision opens a clear path forward for continuing our challenge to the state’s actions in promoting fossil fuel development,” Andrew Welle, lead attorney for the children, said in the release. “We won the vital ruling that no agency in Utah is required to authorize fossil fuel activities at the expense of children’s health.”

How a 2024 bill changed the lawsuit

The environmentalists argued that they had “a right ‘to be free from government conduct that substantially endangers their health and safety’ and that the government defendants’ fossil fuel policies infringe on that right,” according to the decision.

That’s why they asked the court to instruct the government to end that pattern of “systematically authorizing fossil fuel production and development” in the state.

But, state attorneys said that declaring those provisions included in the complaint as unconstitutional would just be a “symbolic action.” The court agreed with that argument, saying that the sole declaration “would not limit the government defendants’ ability to promote fossil fuel development and therefore is not substantially likely to produce the desired effect of redressing their injuries in whole or in part.”

In 2024, Utah approved HB374, removing a provision from Utah code that required the state to “promote the development of nonrenewable energy resources, including natural gas, coal, oil, oil shale, and oil sands” that the children’s lawsuit had challenged. The state substituted it for a policy that ranks energy attributes in order of priority, which clean energy advocates say may result in the prioritization of coal-powered plants.

Now, the Supreme Court wrote, the law also mentions an endorsement of “a diverse energy portfolio,” which was absent before HB374.

“These changes are material to the youth plaintiffs’ legal challenge and render that challenge moot as it is currently pleaded in the complaint,” according to the decision.

Cox’s energy plans with Idaho and Wyoming

Cox used his first address to reporters after the legislative session to highlight the energy efforts lawmakers approved this year. He described energy production as “one of the great challenges of our time,” amid the growth of power-hungry technologies like artificial intelligence.

AI and data centers may take gigawatts of power off the grid, which could affect everyone, he said.

“To solve this, Utah is building an era of energy abundance, an era where affordable, reliable power drives down costs for Utah families, fuels our economy and powers opportunity in every corner of our state,” he said. “Utah is not waiting for someone else to get it right. We’re stepping up in a big way, working with our trusted neighbors in Idaho and Wyoming to create a tri-state energy compact, an agreement that will truly protect our energy future.”

With that, Cox referred to HCR9, a concurrent resolution to create an energy compact with Idaho and Wyoming that the Legislature approved this year, a collaboration that may elevate Utah’s request to split PacifiCorp to step away from the energy policies of California, Oregon and Washington, all blue states pursuing clean energy.

“Utah, Idaho and Wyoming are choosing a different path, one that prioritizes the needs of our citizens over the ideological agendas of coastal states,” Cox said. “It’s clear that we need more options. We need more control over our energy future, and this is a step in that direction.”

But, the consortium would do more than pursue the PacifiCorp split. It would also collaborate on nuclear developments, transmission upgrades and other energy efforts.

“We share similar geography, similar economies and, most importantly, similar values,” Cox said about Idaho and Wyoming. “We believe energy should be affordable and abundant. We believe it should be reliable, and we believe in an all-of-the-above strategy that makes full use of our fossil fuels, our renewable energy resources and our critical minerals.”

Cox has met with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright on the issue, he said, “and we are excited that we have alignment with the federal government.”

“This compact gives us a way to coordinate on these big issues, like investing in new transmission lines, carbon capture technologies and critical infrastructure that will serve our entire region,” Cox said. “It also gives us a stronger voice when we’re advocating for our states in Washington, D.C., whether we’re talking about federal funding, permitting or regulatory decisions, we’ll be better positioned to push policies to support our priorities.”

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.