 Okay, one more. No more patrol. No more diesel. Burning fossil fuels is evil. No more patrol. No more diesel. Burning fossil fuels is evil. Alright, one more. No borders. No nations. No gas power stations. No borders. No nations. No gas power stations. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep it going. Yeah, yeah, okay, okay. Here, come face us with the... Face you? Okay, we're gonna go again with the same ones we just did. Yeah. No more... Keep your carbon in the soil. No diesel. Keep... No burning fossil fuels is evil. No more petrol. No more diesel. Burning fossil fuels is evil. No borders. No nations. No gas power stations. No borders. No nations. No gas power stations. Hey, hey, ho, ho. Climate change has got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho. Climate change. Keep the music here. Really appreciate it. So yeah, hi everyone. I'm Gabe Groveman. I'm a senior at Montpelier High School and a member of the Vermont Youth Lobby. Almost exactly two years ago, I stood in the same place, reminded the same people as part of the Youth Climate Congress. Young people from elementary school through law school from every corner of the state joined together to craft a resolution urging policymakers to protect our future in the Young Vermoners United Climate Declaration. And we offer specific ways that the youth of Vermont want to climate justice and act it in our state. The declaration was given to every legislator and personally delivered to committee rooms. Now, two years later, it's fair to reflect and ask ourselves, what have we really done? As we again stand outside of the state house, we still find ourselves fighting for Vermont to do its part in addressing the climate crisis. This part of our vision has been adapted while much of it has not. Since the declaration, there has been some legislation passed, namely the Global Rural Solutions Act. But even with the support of many of our legislators, Governor Phil Scott and his administration has done almost everything they can at every step of the process to be a barrier to what the youth of Vermont really want. Governor Scott originally vetoed the Global Rural Solutions Act, and after a lot of youth-led protests and other types of demonstrations, we over-rid that. And while Governor Scott was not successful in halting the Global Rural Solutions Act, he has since supported a deal with the multi-billion-dollar corporation Global Foundries that would essentially exempt them from meeting the GWSA's full emissions reduction requirements. Allowing Global Foundries to make that deal would not only be unfair to the planet, but to all of us young people who have dedicated our time and energy to seeing these solutions put into action. I think I can safely speak for everyone here when I say it's exhausting to constantly have to advocate for the lead of our state to do the bare minimum. We will not let Phil Scott and Global Foundries move us backwards. The fight is ongoing. The road to a green future that hundreds of young people have outlined in detail will ultimately be difficult, and there's absolutely no reason we should make it any harder. Standing here today, this is not just upholding one bill, but it's about a churning at a time where leaders from around the world are meeting to find solutions and still missing the mark that we as a state follow through and become the leaders that I know we can be. No more putting people over profit, or putting profit over people. Yeah, good distinction. No more excuses. The youth of Vermont will not stand back while our leaders, while our efforts to fight climate change and secure the safety of our future approach to sign. Should I introduce myself? I'm a senior at Essex High School. I was in Australia and California, scorching heat waves in Canada and Pakistan, severe flooding in China, and a drought that has caused severe famine and displaced over one million people in Madagascar. Climate change is no longer just a looming threat. It is here. It is a human rights issue that is detrimental, and an all-encompassing threat to our environment, our health, our security, and to the very ground that we stand on. The failure of our government and global leaders to act on this and the face of overwhelming scientific evidence in human suffering is one of the biggest human rights violations that we have ever faced. Today is the last day of COP26, a global conference where countries come together to pledge to take action on climate change. This is nothing to celebrate, though. This has been happening for almost three decades, longer than I have been alive, yet it is evident that the pledges made are empty promises inciting false hope and perpetuating suffering. Almost three decades of conferences with almost no change to show for it. With the policies that governments have right now, warming is expected to reach 2.7 degrees Celsius. And what's driving this inaction? It is a continued commitment to coal and gas. The U.S., China, and India, three of the biggest emitters of fossil fuels refused to sign the Glasgow coal pact. The European Union is still planning to fund new gas plants. Most countries aren't even meeting the pledges they made to cut emissions back in the 2015 Paris negotiations. Here at home, Biden promised to have greenhouse gas emissions, but now that seems out of reach. Senator Joe Manchin's opposition to Biden's $150 billion clean electricity protection program, which would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions tied to electricity generation, killed the plan. Even though the policies would have tackled the crisis that are affecting his state of West Virginia, he is more concerned with filling his pockets rather than fulfilling his promises to help people. Governments and leaders are not taking their commitments seriously. They use aspirational messaging to distract from their inadequate action. There is a frightening lack of leadership. Their inaction is fueling inequity. The ones who are making the decisions aren't the ones who will be around to face the impacts which will widen inequalities resulting in violence and displacement. The stark reality is that our future isn't guaranteed. What will we have to do in order to survive? Tell me, why are we putting profits over people? We cannot undo the mistakes of the past, but we can make things right. This means we have to take action now. Our generation of conscious citizens can make things right. We have to make systemic changes that will ensure peace, prosperity and equity. Because our lives are valuable and our futures are worth it. Climate change is here now, but we are also here now. And if we don't act, thank you. It's not just one. And that those who created it will be least affected by it. For example, the US is one of the top carbon emitters in the world. But even as we exacerbate climate change, we don't have to face the most devastating of events. We don't have to face the 8 million people who have relocated in Southeast Asia due to unpredictable weather patterns. We don't have to face the millions who have moved away from their homes in the African Sahel because of crop failures and drought. We don't have to face the hundreds of thousands of people who are forced from their lands in Latin America from the extreme drought and flooding. 71% of emissions are created by just 100 companies. Just 100! These companies make unimaginable amounts profiting off the destruction of our futures. They pollute our air, they flood our cities, they bleach our coral and burn our forests and exploit people on a global scale. These corporations are not the ones paying the price for their actions. Instead, those in poverty, those that are exploited, homeless and hungry, are paying the price. Indigenous folks, having been the responsible stewards of the Earth for hundreds of thousands of years, are paying the price. Black folks and people of color are paying the price when companies put their hazardous facilities and toxic waste in their communities. While this harm is inflicted, these corporations stand by. As one of the richest nations in the world and the top contributor to the climate crisis, it is our responsibility to act. Even if we don't see severe effects in Vermont just yet, we still can prevent further atrocities from happening. And we must act in an inclusive, just way so that no groups are further sidelined. In 2019, the youth lobby created the United Climate Declaration. We asked then and we ask again now that in the upcoming transitional years, you prioritize low-income, rural, BIPOC, and frontline communities safety, health, and knowledge. If we are going to solve this climate crisis, then we are going to do it with justice at the center. Thank you. We call for legislative action against climate change. We need climate legislation before it's too late. Climate change affects everyone, but to those experiencing homelessness, it can be deadly. People who contribute the least to climate crisis are the ones who are most affected by it, who suffer socioeconomic inequalities and are more likely to feel the effects of climate change. Climate change causes increases and decreases in temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, forms and reduction in water availability, all of which can lead to reduced agricultural production. Less agricultural production leads to less available food, higher prices, and more people being food insecure. The people who are producing the most greenhouse gases are not the ones who are food insecure or lower income. BIPOC members are far more likely to live in polluted areas, be food insecure, and experience homelessness. Environmental racism, which is the unequal access to clean environments and basic environmental resources based on race. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by the environmental hazards and are much more likely to live in areas with heavy pollution. Air pollution, OSIN, acidification, and natural disasters are all more likely to impact BIPOC communities. All of these issues are interconnected and we need legislation to fix it. The Vermont Climate Council needs to listen and support BIPOC, houseless, low income, and other frontline communities. We need more accessible and free public transportation. We need solutions for climate change, food insecurity, the housing crisis, and so much more. The administration just extended the GA Motel program, a program to house people experiencing homelessness in motels, showing they care. They can further support Vermont people by taking more action against climate change. I hope Vermont can become an example to the nation in social and environmental legislation. This is Mia Kanazaro and I'm a sophomore at Essex High School. Addie Lensner was sadly not able to make it today, but she asked me to give her speech. As our world leaders are deliberating in Glasgow at COP26, the most vulnerable of our community are suffering and going unheard. People experiencing homelessness are at the mercy of climate destruction. Hurricanes and rabbit storms, extreme heat and intense cold, people experiencing homelessness are at the foot of it all. In the meantime, the total emissions in the top richest 10% will exceed the 1.5 Celsius limit, the impacts of which will harm the lower 90% disproportionately. We need big and bold climate action if we want to prevent the suffering that climate change causes people experiencing homelessness, and if we truly seek equity. It is easy to turn a blind eye to the most vulnerable, yet understanding their experiences is key to finding the solutions. Disparities do not just exist in populations experiencing homelessness. People of color and low income individuals are disproportionately affected by climate change as well. More than half the people who live near hazardous waste or polluted sites are people of color. People of color breathe in 40% more polluted air than white people, and 68% of African Americans live near coal plants, compared to just 56% of white people. Climate change does not affect everyone the same. When our world leaders, as well as our state and local leaders, discuss climate change, they need to consider and listen to the most impacted communities. With little time left for our planet to survive, we need to be looking at their stories, rather than the stories of those of us minimally impacted by climate change. The stories of sleeping outside during a hurricane, of growing up near hazardous waste sites, of getting asthma as a kid due to pollution. Those are the stories that need to be propelling us to act with urgency, do submissions, go green, and save the planet. COP26 is a start, but we need sustained action. Vermont must take up the reins and be a model to the nation, with bold action before it is too late. The administration just extended the GA Motel Program for all people experiencing homelessness, displaying their support for vulnerable community members. Will the administration do the same with climate change, listening to vulnerable communities, and taking courageous action? As I stand on these steps of the State House, with young people from across the state, Senator Manchin is holding up direly needed climate legislation, and leaders are sitting in Glasgow on the final day of COP, specifically COP26, because this is the 26th year that these people have discussed action that is needed, and then decided that our futures are just not worth it. As the nation and the world turn their backs on the horrors of climate change, and the much needed actions that they have the ability to take, what is Vermont doing? More importantly, what will Vermont do? The Global Warming Solutions Act set out the process for creating a climate council to put out state climate action plans that must meet requirements. As we put together the climate action plan that's going to come out in December 1st, I want to start by expressing my deep gratitude for the work that all the counselors and staff has done, but while this plan will be an okay step in the right direction, and on an all-right step towards meeting the demands laid out in the Climate Congress declaration, it is not nearly enough, and we deserve better. We need better. Two years ago, we demanded collectively that the state actively work to serve the needs of marginalized communities who are socioeconomically and geographically vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This was mostly tasked to the council, and we have failed. A plan that should have been co-created with the most impacted communities instead has public engagement that looks more like marketing. And without input from the most impacted Vermonters, this plan does not, cannot harness the power that this moment of transition to repair harm in the way that we might have been able to. That doesn't mean this plan should be scrapped. I want to be clear about that, but instead that we must do better in the next few months, in the next plan, we must prioritize engaging frontline communities in this work. Two years ago, we stood on these steps and told the Senate to prioritize low-income, rural, indigenous, and frontline communities for critical services, including but not limited to access to educational facilities, incentives, job trainings, and transitional assistance. We called for the training needed to create a quality of opportunity to train us for the jobs of tomorrow. This was part of the purview task of the Council. And again, we have failed. In this process, workforce development has been pushed off and swept away so that any actions that were guarded are having to be created and compiled at the last minute. And it has been set aside as the afterthought of the problems of the next generation, the way that the issues of the climate crisis so often are. And still, I will tell you that this plan is necessary because we need to have these stopgap actions that will allow us to do the important work in the coming years. Two years ago, we stood in the cold with some of these states. I stood in the cold with some of these same people. I remember that we stood together and demanded climate action for our state, climate action that was delegated to the Council, climate action that costs money, that requires investments in our futures. And again, in this right as the Council, we have failed. We have shoved down the conversations about funding in the name of political palatability, allowing that escape hatch that has been all used all too many times of that costs too much and we can't afford it. When in reality, we cannot afford inaction. It will cost us our lives if we do not invest in our futures right now. As I look to the future, I hope that the state has the courage to make these investments now because when leaders finally wake up to the reality of the climate crisis, their investments may not be too little, they will be too late. This climate action plan is not enough. It is not enough for us. It is not enough for the state and it is not enough for the generations to come to whom we are accountable. This plan is imperfect. It is far less than we deserve and far less than we need. And yet, I want to point out that inaction is worse. The climate crisis exacerbates in the existing inequities in the world. Every single moment we do nothing, we are perpetuating injustice. Every year you all make us wait is active harm to our futures. And so, as imperfect as it is, we need this plan because we need action. Because we cannot afford to kick this down, can down the road. We cannot afford to wait any longer to take the actions that we have expressed the need for two years ago because we need you to fight for our future with the same urgency that we do. And so, I turn to the legislature, I turn to the governor and I tell them to pass the recommendations of this plan to engage communities, to create workforce development, to fund our futures, to meet the demands and, for once, stand up and be the adults, be the leaders that we have always asked you to be and take bold climate action. We stood here two years ago and we are back again now to tell you and tell the so-called leaders of the state you failed. You failed Vermont. You failed our communities and you failed the future. Thank you. In the wake of recent climate disasters and as new ones lean in the future, it is easy to feel powerless at making a difference. It seems that even as the situation grows more dire, many people are in power or more inclined to turn a blind eye to the chaos that we humans have inflicted on the environment and each other. As we look to the future, we need concrete climate legislation if we want to make a change. Even as young as a fourth grader, I felt the pressure of the climate crisis looming over me and I felt like I needed all I need to do, all I could to stop it from happening. But what can a ten-year-old do to stop a global crisis? Focusing on climate legislation has given me some of the power back in making a difference and I need leaders to step up and make the changes for us to rally around. We should follow the example of the members of our legislature who have made many attempts to impose very thoughtful climate legislation. Some of the proposed bills have acknowledged the multifaceted climate crisis and who it is hurting. For example, at the beginning of last legislative session, there was a small push to incorporate a Vermont version of AOC's Green New Deal. But it never got off the ground because of lack of support. One person in opposition of the act went as far as saying that the top 5% of wealthy Vermonters would leave the state if they were taxed for climate infrastructure. Given the fact that the proposed taxes were minute in comparison to the incomes of these people's tax, this sentiment undermined the work that was put into this piece of legislation. We need support not just from the legislature who in many ways have tried, but also from Governor Phil Scott. We need another big piece of climate legislation like the Global Warming Solutions Act. I'm calling for legislation to rally behind. If we want to progress forward, we need good legislation that we can root for. And when it comes time to put in place these laws, we need to keep the pressure on and work together to avoid a veto that would destroy the months of work put into these laws. Thank you. In summary, we are asking for you to listen to our words and very, very importantly, we are asking you to give in your time and energy to climate action. Students from across the state, thank you all so much.