Mathur, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario

The Superior Court of Justice in Ontario denied a motion to dismiss a case brought by seven youth who argued that Ontario's 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target of 30% below 2005 levels is insufficiently ambitious and violates constitutional rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. The court ruled that the application is prima facie justiciable, the targets are reviewable, and the applicants have standing for themselves and future generations.

• Seven young applicants sued the government of Ontario, arguing that its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target of 30% below 2005 levels is inadequate and less ambitious than targets previously adopted under the Paris Agreement, failing to prevent 'catastrophic climate change.'
• The applicants alleged that the failure to implement stringent climate plans infringes upon the constitutional rights of youth and future generations under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, specifically citing rights to equal protection and the rights to life, liberty, and security of the person.
• The Superior Court of Justice in Ontario dismissed the Attorney General's motion to strike the application, ruling that it was not plain and obvious that the case lacked a reasonable cause of action or prospect of success.
• In its reasoning, the Court determined that the applicants have standing for themselves and future generations, that the application is prima facie justiciable, that the pleaded facts are capable of scientific proof, and that the relevant plans and targets are subject to judicial review.

APA

Contributor, C. (2025). Mathur, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario. ClimaTalk. https://climatalk.org/2025/02/25/mathur-her-majesty-queen-right-ontario/

Chicago

Contributor, ClimaTalk. Mathur, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario. ClimaTalk, 2025. https://climatalk.org/2025/02/25/mathur-her-majesty-queen-right-ontario/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Contributor |first1=ClimaTalk |title=Mathur, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario |publisher=ClimaTalk |date=25 February 2025 |url=https://climatalk.org/2025/02/25/mathur-her-majesty-queen-right-ontario/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{contributor2025mathur, author = {Contributor, ClimaTalk}, title = {{Mathur, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario}}, institution = {ClimaTalk}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://climatalk.org/2025/02/25/mathur-her-majesty-queen-right-ontario/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }