Zoe Grames-Webb joined a youth climate lawsuit in 2019 at age 13. Now it’s going to trial seven years later in Vancouver
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Vancouver university student Zoe Grames-Webb was just a child when she became aware that health problems from wildfire smoke were keeping her from participating in summer outdoor activities.
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Now 20, the biochemistry major at UBC said when the smoke is heavy in the air she suffers from bad headaches, coughing from irritated lungs, and red, swollen eyes. At times, she felt so bad she had to stay inside and couldn’t play outdoor basketball or go to the beach with her friends. She also rows, and has had many practices cancelled because of heat or smoke.
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“It’s a unique experience for my generation, having this intense climate anxiety, thinking about how bad it’s going to get, like will we be able to go outside, or will our homes be destroyed?”
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The knowledge that this would likely become worse as she grew up drove her to get involved with climate activism. At 13 years old, with help from her dad, she joined a Canadian youth climate lawsuit launched by Our Children’s Trust in 2019 with 14 other young people. The lawsuit argues the Canadian government has not done enough to protect young people from the harm caused by climate change.
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Seven years later, a trial has been set aside for eight weeks in Vancouver’s Federal Court, starting Oct. 26.
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She’s not the only plaintiff with health problems that have been exacerbated by climate impacts. According to the lawsuit, one has severe allergic asthma, another has Raynaud’s syndrome, and two have serious autoimmune conditions.
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Mental health impacts are also documented in the lawsuit, including diagnosed anxiety disorder, clinical depression, eco-anxiety, and trauma from evacuations and extreme weather events.
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Grames-Webb said she has been forced to stay inside for days at a time when heat or wildfire smoke was bad.
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This also led to mental health issues as the gravity of the situation made her anxious about the well-being of her extended family and about her future.
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“It’s hard to explain but you have focuses and passions in your life that you want to work toward, but knowing that climate change could really affect those plans,” she said.
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“People ask me like ‘oh what do you want to do when you’re older?’ And it’s hard to answer that when you’re thinking about how our Earth is falling apart.”
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At trial, a judge is expected to rule on whether the Canadian government’s contribution to the climate crisis violates the constitutional rights of young people throughout the country. The plaintiffs argue the government continues to contribute to the harms.
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Anna Johnston, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, which is part of the legal team representing the youth, said this is the first time that this argument will go to trial in Canada.
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Many of the youth involved are now young adults, and over the past seven years they have seen a worsening of climate harms, including more intense wildfire seasons, deadly flooding and B.C.’s 2021 heat dome that caused more than 600 deaths, Johnston said.
