High school student leaders from across Indiana will gather at the Statehouse on Wednesday, February 1 to advocate for climate solutions and clean energy with supportive legislators.

The statewide youth-led organization Confront the Climate Crisis will host a climate action rally and press conference on Wednesday, February 1 at 11 am in the Fourth Floor’s North Atrium at the Indiana Statehouse. This event, called “Act Now!” and co-hosted by State Representative Carey Hamilton (D-Indianapolis), will bring a bipartisan coalition of youth, advocacy organizations, and legislators together to call on the Indiana General Assembly to take common-sense action on climate change.

The event will begin with a press conference at 11 a.m. in which youth leaders and a bipartisan group of legislators will speak about the importance of enacting climate solutions to create a brighter future for Hoosiers. During the press conference, the Confront the Climate Crisis youth will promote specific pieces of legislation that advance clean energy and economic development projects, expand access to community solar initiatives, conserve Indiana’s forests and wetlands, and establish a climate task force to work towards a statewide climate action plan.

This is the second legislative session in which Confront the Climate Crisis is bringing youth to the forefront of climate and energy matters at the Statehouse. In the 2022 Legislative Session, the organization worked with Senator Ron Alting (R-Lafayette) to push for Senate Bill 255, which would have created a statewide climate task force. While this bill did not get a committee hearing, the passionate and persistent advocacy of youth from across Indiana earned it four Republican co-authors and four Democrat co-authors.

Rahul Durai, a high school student from West Lafayette and Co-Executive Director of Confront the Climate Crisis, is proud the passion and energy Hoosier youth have for climate action is only growing.

“In the 2022 Legislative Session,” Durai said, “we saw youth engagement at the Indiana Statehouse that we have never seen before. The fact that this energy did not stop—the fact that we have continued to see Hoosier youth push their schools, cities, state officials, and federal officials on the issue of climate change—makes me optimistic that we will see some bipartisan action in the legislature.”

Ashlyn Walker, a high school student from West Lafayette and Co-Executive Director of Confront the Climate Crisis, says Confront the Climate Crisis’ work to bring different experts and perspectives to the table to have meaningful conversations about climate policy gives her a lot of hope. She is particularly proud of the Indiana Climate Policy Conference she and her peers, as well as the climate justice non-profit Earth Charter Indiana, organized this past September in Indianapolis.

Walker said, “On September 16, over 125 people—including lobbyists, legislators, scientists, and dozens of high school students—came to Indianapolis to hear experts speak about potential climate solutions for Indiana related to energy, industrial emissions, buildings, agriculture, transportation, and forest conservation. We then facilitated small group discussions to hear everyone’s input on these policies. This groundwork of bringing people together and developing meaningful policy ideas makes me feel excited and ready to advocate for climate action in the 2023 Legislative Session.”

LEARN MORE:

www.ConfrontTheClimateCrisis.com/event-details/2023-act-now