Canadian government sued over climate inaction

People visit the Mount Royal lookout in Montreal on Monday, July 14, 2025.

Three young women and two environmental groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government seeking to force it to develop an action plan to meet its key climate goals.

The lawsuit comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government shifts Canada’s climate and energy priorities, rolling back key environmental policies while advancing major energy and infrastructure projects to reduce dependence on the United States.

Announcing the lawsuit, plaintiff Shirley Barnea, a university student from Quebec, said authorities had an obligation to build a sustainable future for younger generations.

“Young people deserve a sustainable economy, good green jobs and a government with a credible plan to get us there,” Barnea told a news conference.

Five years ago under prime minister Justin Trudeau, the federal government had set a target of slashing total carbon emissions by 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, but Carney has acknowledged the country is unlikely to meet them.

The legal action aims to compel the government “to chart a credible, up-to-date course of action” and “to protect Canadians from the worsening impacts of climate change,” according to a statement from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), which is also a party to the lawsuit.

Sophia Mathur, a fellow plaintiff from Ontario, added: “My generation’s first decade on this planet will have been marked by wildfire seasons, floods, heat waves, and constant warnings from scientists that the window for action is closing.”

“Over the last year, we have watched the Carney government weaken, delay and repeal Canada’s key climate policies,” said Charlie Hatt, Climate Director at Equal Justice, which is bringing the challenge alongside the three plaintiffs.

‘Existential threat’

Since taking office in March 2025, centre-left Carney has rolled back several environmental measures, including a carbon tax for individuals and an emissions cap for the oil and gas sector.

Carney has argued that Canada must strengthen its economic resilience in response to trade tensions with the United States under President Donald Trump, including by accelerating major energy and infrastructure projects that his government says are in the national interest.

The filing describes climate change as an “existential threat,” noting that Canada is warming at roughly twice the global rate, while temperatures in its north are rising nearly three times faster, according to the court documents reviewed by AFP.

“The federal government made a promise, a legal commitment, to meet its climate targets,” said Mathur, the plaintiff. “Now it must keep its word.”

The government is also set to face trial in October in a separate case alleging that the previous Trudeau administration’s response to climate change violated the rights of young Canadians.

A broader wave of climate litigation is seeking to hold governments accountable for their climate policies in countries including Germany, the Netherlands and France.