In an order issued Dec. 23, 2025, a five-justice majority of the Montana Supreme Court denied a petition by plaintiffs from the landmark Held v. Montana constitutional climate case. Rikki Held and 12 co-plaintiffs had asked the justices to block a trio of laws, passed by the Montana Legislature earlier this year, that address the state’s environmental review process and analysis of greenhouse gas emissions. Chief Justice Cory Swanson’s four-page order said the plaintiffs haven’t met the “emergency” threshold for such petitions, and that lower courts are well-equipped to decide the constitutional issues.
