International Rights of Nature Tribunal Delivers Judgment Against the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Tribunal finds Mountain Valley Pipeline violates Rights of Nature & Rivers, urges repeal of Section 324 and global action to halt MVP
The industry wants us to believe pipelines are inevitable. However, the MVP Southgate project has already been delayed, shortened, and pushed back due to resistance.”
NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, September 25, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The International Rights of Nature Tribunal has issued its newly released judgment on the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), declaring the project a clear violation of the Rights of Nature (RON) and demanding that it be stopped immediately. Internal Docket Number IRoN-LH-MVP-SG-2024-06-01, which the Global Alliance held for the Rights of Nature (GARN). — Dr. Crystal Cavalier
This judgment builds on the Tribunal convened by 7 Directions of Service in June 2024, where Indigenous leaders, experts, and community witnesses brought forward powerful testimony on the ecological, cultural, and human rights harms caused by the MVP. Following that hearing, the Judges' Assembly has now released its official verdict, marking a historic milestone in holding the fossil fuel industry accountable to the principles of the Rights of Nature.
At the Tribunal, judges, audience members, and witnesses unanimously affirmed that the MVP offers no public benefit or necessity in light of overwhelming ecological, social, and cultural harms. Testimonies exposed how pipelines, fracking, and destructive monoculture plantations
systematically violate the rights of ecosystems, communities, and the climate.
In its verdict, the Tribunal declared that the MVP and its Southgate extension represent a clear violation of the Rights of Nature and the Rights of Rivers, offering no necessity or benefit in exchange for devastating ecological and social costs. The judgment calls for the pipeline’s cancellation, repeal of Section 324 of the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, investigations into possible U.S. environmental law violations, and urgent review by international bodies, including
the United Nations, IUCN, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Tribunal further affirmed the inherent rights of ecosystems and Indigenous Peoples, rejected corporate claims of “inherent rights,” and recognized the link between pipeline development, environmental destruction, and violence against Indigenous communities.
The Tribunal announced its intention to present this judgment at COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025, bringing the case to the world stage and inviting governments, civil society, and communities everywhere to join the movement to defend Earth and uphold the Rights of Nature.
Kasey Kinsella
7 Directions of Service
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