A group of young people in Montana who are suing the state government for allegedly failing to protect them from climate change is set to begin a two-week trial on Monday.

Montana has a constitutional obligation to protect residents from the impacts of climate change. The 16 plaintiffs, whose ages range between 5 and 22, will try to persuade state District Judge Kathy Seeley that the state has violated this requirement and has endangered their health and livelihoods.

The state’s Constitution says the government must "maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment" and experts say the case could set a legal precedent in several other states with similar environmental protections written into their constitutions, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York.

Environmentalists are clinging to the case as a potential turning point for legal challenges as similar suits in nearly every state have been dismissed, according to The Associated Press.

MT GAS PLANT TO RESUME CONSTRUCTION AFTER JUDGE REVERSES CLIMATE-BASED PERMIT SUSPENSION

The plaintiffs in the case argue that Montana officials fail to curb planet-warming emissions while the state pursues oil, gas and coal development, court documents show.

The plaintiffs also allege the state is not doing enough to combat smoke from worsening wildfires, which they say is polluting the air, or to alleviate drought which is causing rivers to dry up that would otherwise sustain agriculture, fish, wildlife and recreation.

The state claims that fossil fuel investments provide jobs, tax revenue and help meet the energy needs of residents.

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The state is also expected to argue extreme climate conditions have existed for centuries and that Montana makes "minuscule" contributions towards global greenhouse gas emissions, The AP reported.

The case comes as the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration said earlier this month the carbon dioxide levels in the air this spring reached the highest levels in over 4 million years.

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The International Energy Agency, which provides authoritative analysis and policy recommendations, said greenhouse gas emissions also reached a record last year.

Judge Kathy Seeley has said she could rule in favor of the environmentalists but cannot tell the legislature how to remedy the violation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Florida man was arrested Sunday after cutting off his ankle monitor, barricading himself inside an apartment and jumping out of a window in the apartment, according to officials.

The Sumter County Sheriff's Office responded to the Sandalwood Apartments in the city of Wildwood at around 3:54 a.m. Sunday after multiple reports of a driver breaking into apartments after crashing a car into one of the buildings. 

When deputies arrived, they discovered the suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Corey Michael Payton, who barricaded himself inside a second-story apartment he was burglarizing, the sheriff's office said in a press release. 

Payton threatened to shoot deputies, leading authorities to evacuate several apartments they considered to be in danger. 

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The sheriff's office's S.W.A.T. team ultimately responded to the scene and a Crisis Negotiations Team established verbal contact with Payton through a second-floor window he had broken out.

Officials had been negotiating with Payton to surrender peacefully for several hours before he dove out of the second-story apartment window and landed on the ground.

A Villages Fire Rescue crew at the scene attempted life-saving measures before Payton was flown by helicopter to a regional trauma center.

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Deputies checked out the inside of one of the burglarized apartments and found Payton's ankle monitor. He was on parole for burglary and on supervised release. 

An arrest warrant was issued on June 9 after he violated his parole, the sheriff's office said. Payton has an extensive criminal history that includes 139 prior felony charges with 30 total felony convictions. 

Payton's charges for Sunday's incident are still under investigation but will include burglary to an occupied dwelling, burglary to a dwelling and multiple counts of criminal mischief. 

He will be booked into the Sumter County Detention Center when he is released from the hospital.