Mary Christina Wood (born 1962) is an Oregon Philip H. Knight Professor of Law and author, best known for her writings advocating for the use of the public trust doctrine to compel government action on climate change.
Wood originated the approach, called atmospheric trust litigation, "to hold governments worldwide accountable for reducing carbon pollution within their jurisdictions, and her research is being used in cases and petitions brought on behalf of children and youth throughout the United States and in other countries.
[4] After graduating from Stanford Law School in 1987, Wood served as a judicial clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
[4] Wood's book, Nature's Trust: Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2014.
One non-profit organizing such litigation, Our Children's Trust, has brought a suit on behalf of 21 youth plaintiffs against the US government for its actions contributing to climate change.