In a divided panel decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has found that 21 young people who sued the federal government claiming that it has failed to address climate change do not have standing to pursue their case in federal court.

“We do not dispute that the broad judicial relief the plaintiffs seek could well goad the political branches into action,” wrote Judge Andrew Hurwitz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in an opinion joined by Judge Mary Murguia. “We reluctantly conclude, however, that the plaintiffs’ case must be made to the political branches or to the electorate at large, the latter of which can change the composition of the political branches through the ballot box.”