A group of Vermont young people will hold what they're calling a "Youth Climate Congress" this Sunday at the Vermont Statehouse. They'll act like a legislative body, and plan to draft a resolution urging state lawmakers to do more to address climate change.
Youth Climate Congress organizers Evelyn Seidner and Lili Platt spoke to VPR's Henry Epp. Listen to their conversation above.
The youth organizers told VPR that students plan to break into subcommittees, discuss measures they hope state leaders will consider in the next session, then re-convene as a group to pass a resolution to push state lawmakers to take up their priorities.
Sunday's event is the latest youth-led action around climate change in the state this year. Students attending will vary in age from middle school to graduate school.
Organizer Evelyn Seidner, a senior at Burr & Burton Academy, said young people have a greater sense of urgency around climate change than older generations.
"While the youth are afraid for their future, the older generation does not feel that same urgency," Seidner said. "They still look at climate change as a faraway problem that they will deal with eventually, but it is not that day yet."
The event begins at Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in Montpelier.
