Dear Governor Brown and Members of the Oregon Legislature:
In 2019, thousands of Oregon youth participated in school strikes for climate in solidarity with a growing global movement of young people committed to bold action to address the climate crisis. Oregon has failed to meaningfully address climate change for decades. The legislature failed Oregonians during the 2019 legislative session when it failed to pass the Clean Energy Jobs bill (HB 2020). We are demanding our government respond to the climate crisis with the urgency science demands to preserve a planet on which we can live, work, raise families and lead healthy lives.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - the world’s premier scientific body on climate - we have just 10 years to drastically reduce carbon emissions before catastrophic climate change becomes irreversible. Climate change is already having devastating impacts on Oregon’s economy, its environment, and on the health of all Oregonians.. We demand bold action from our elected representatives that holds the largest polluters accountable and invests in a just transition off of fossil fuels that prioritizes frontline communities.
In the words of 16-year old Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greta Thunberg who founded the Fridays for Future movement: "We do need hope—of course, we do. But the one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere."
We ask that Oregon lawmakers take action to protect our future by passing a strong Clean Energy Jobs in 2020.
Our future is in your hands,
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