It’s Getting Hot In Here

NPR has featured several young climate champions in its series Climate Connections. Latest in this series is an interview, article and audio slideshow from Juan Hoffmaister, a Costa Rican native and SustainUS policy advisor who blogs here and at ChangingClimates.info. Juan talks with NPR about the year he has spent visiting and researching areas of the world affected by environmental challenges linked to climate change, such as Fiji, Vietnam and India. He is currently in Namibia and will soon head to Mozambique.

On Wednesday, President Bush gave a speech demonstrating his lack of leadership on the issue of climate, reiterating the false idea that bold action and economic growth must be mutually exclusive and touting nuclear and coal as solutions to climate change.

SustainUS, a youth organization active at the international level, issued a statement today responding to Bush’s speech. Here is an excerpt:

“President Bush’s call for halting emissions by 2025 is just a guise for his opposition to the Senate proposals to stop U.S. emissions growth by 2012, which are much more appropriate,” says Juan Hoffmaister, a SustainUS policy advisor.  The most recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading scientific body on the subject, indicate that global carbon emissions must peak between 2015 and 2020 in order to avoid irreversible damage.  It is irresponsible for a country as powerful as ours to adopt a target so far beyond the time frame strongly advised by the leading international organization on climate change.

Click here to continue reading the response.

The following is the text of my introductory comments at yesterday’s US Climate Action Network press conference:

Youth from the United States are here in Bali because we are worried about our future. Climate change is a threat to the safety, health, and livelihood of the world’s citizens. Unlike our government, youth in the US recognize the moral obligation we all share to take strong action to ensure our future.

Back home, we are organizing on campuses and in communities. Our ranks are growing every year. I’m here representing SustainUS, a nonprofit organization run entirely by volunteers under the age of 26. We represent just a small portion of the movement in the states. We are getting involved at every level – from raising awareness and education to influencing local, state, and federal policy. Last month, 6,000 young people gathered for Powershift, the largest citizen conference on climate change ever. We are building our capacity and building (or repairing) bridges with the international community. Together, we are building a global movement.

As young people, we have a large stake here in Bali. We need strong, effective action and a clear path for international collaboration. We believe the US delegation here in Bali is out of touch with the concerns of the American public. We ask them to take seriously their responsibility to our country and their children.

Youth will inherit the outcomes of Bali. The world is watching, the youth are rising, and we invite you to join us.