A group of youth in Hawaii are breaking new legal ground with the nation’s first constitutional climate change case aimed at pushing back against climate pollution from transportation systems and policies, with a federal suit against Hawaii’s Department of Transportation. A Sept. 26 trial date looms, but the state has requested an eight-month delay.

The young activists, backed by environmental law firm Earthjustice, oppose the delay. Their motion asks that the trial stay on track, “to ensure the escalating harms they are already experiencing can be redressed in time to alleviate their losses and suffering and avert a climate catastrophe.”