New Haven, CT –As international climate decision-makers gather in Belem, Brazil this week for COP 30, young advocates took to the streets across the world for a global Fridays for Future mobilization. In New Haven, over 20 advocates came together with New Haven Climate Movement, Save the Sound, and Sunrise New Haven in front of New Haven City Hall for a climate rally titled “From Brazil to Our Backyards.” They listened to speeches, made art, chalked messages on the sidewalk, and rallied for strong action on the climate emergency.
Nine years ago, at the United Nation’s 21st climate conference (COP 21), nearly 200 countries approved the Paris Agreement, and pledged to limit their respective nations’ carbon emissions to limit “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.” Now, at COP 30, world leaders face the reality that many nations have not fulfilled their commitments and must commit more resources to mitigating global emissions while building the resilience of nations to better adapt to future disasters.
Unfortunately, the United States did not send any delegates to COP 30, has once again withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, and has launched a series of rollbacks on foundational environmental protections like the Endangerment Finding, which enables the federal government to limit greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. In the face of national climate policy rollbacks and the news that while global emissions have slowed, they continue to rise, youth are turning to local action as a tangible way to combat environmental injustice.
“Save the Sound encourages young people to get involved in state legislative advocacy with us, and our youth partners in particular. Over recent years, youth involvement at the Connecticut State Capitol has supported the passage of legislation that enables greenhouse gas reduction and renewable energy growth, climate change education, and more. Connecticut continues to move forward on climate, but we need more grassroots support to demand accountability on the climate crisis from lawmakers and regulators.”
Alex Rodriguez, Environmental Justice Specialist at Save the Sound
Fellow advocates shared examples of how they’re fighting to mitigate climate-inducing greenhouse gas emissions, while sustaining and growing the capacity of community-based organizations with local and state government funds.
Adrian Huq, cofounder of the New Haven Climate Movement Youth Action Team, said, “I am excited about the passage of the Transportation Transformation Resolution and looking forward to its full implementation. It is critical for our city to move away from car dependency, better promote alternative transportation, and make New Haven safer and more welcoming for bus riders, pedestrians, and bikers. I am proud to be standing in solidarity with our partner groups today, but also with indigenous peoples raising their voices for climate justice and inclusion on a global level at COP30.”
New Haven Climate Movement, (a youth led grassroots organization that promotes climate justice, green jobs, and healthy communities,) has led locally-focused climate policy and investment efforts with support from Save the Sound, over the last six years, including passing a Transportation Transformation Resolution by the Board of Alders last month, and the New Haven Climate Emergency Resolution in 2019. Friday’s rally was a continuation of those efforts, pushing for accountability on greenhouse gas reductions; highlighting the state, national, and international climate policy landscape; and raising awareness about the financial burden that the effects of climate change is putting on young people and future generations, estimated at $500,000 in costs connected to higher food, health, insurance, adaptation costs plus lost work and displacement for a child born in 2024.
Andreina Barajas Novoa, a community organizer with Justice for Our Streets in Stratford, said: “Supporting community-based organizations through government funding for environmental education programs is necessary because we need to help the communities we serve correct misinformation about the role fossil fuel companies play in FUELING what is now a climate emergency. With sustained funding for our environmental education initiatives, we can support an informed and engaged public, while protecting our natural resources. Local and state leaders, environmental justice-focused organizations need your support now more than ever.”
Advocates from Sunrise New Haven also called for the creation of a Climate Superfund to pay for climate adaptation.
“We must demand a Climate Superfund. This would make the biggest polluters in the state pay for their fair share of climate damages and support a fund that pays for necessary local climate adaptation resilience and repair,” said Sydney Collins of Sunrise New Haven. “It is modeled after the federal Superfund Act for toxic waste (CERCLA) and the principles are basic: if you break something, you fix it. If you profit off decades of pollution, you contribute to cleaning it up.”
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