“[Climate change] is killing our planet.”

Asher, a freshman at Fairview High School, said that is why people ought to care about this issue.

And Asher is by no means alone in this assertion, which is, in fact, on the side of science.

The Sunrise Movement

Around the globe, there are activists working to protect the planet and all of its inhabitants from the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.

The Sunrise Movement, according to their website, is “a youth movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.” It has become a worldwide example of what climate activism can look like.

Sunrise Fairview

The movement is made up of numerous chapters, one of which is located right next door in Boulder—at Fairview High School. Asher, as well as Maia (12), Zane (12), Elias (10), Michael (12), Alli (12), and Ilana (12) are all members of Sunrise Fairview.

“Sunrise Fairview is a student-run group that is aiming to participate in the large movement of people who want to see real change in the world,” Maia said.

A primary focus of this change, according to Maia, acknowledges that the impacts of climate change are often exacerbated for underrepresented communities: “Our actions have taken a whole view of climate action as something which disproportionately affects the most historically marginalized members of our community—unhoused people, low-income people, people of color—and we want to work on community-wide actions as a way to build solidarity and create meaningful change.”

This approach to the movement is often referred to as climate justice and has been recognized by many organizations around the nation—and the world. In fact, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement, “[A]s is always the case, the poor and vulnerable are the first to suffer and the worst-hit [by climate change].”

This idea was also expressed in a 2021 report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Zane, who referred to the many issues that have been found to contribute to disproportionate climate change impacts, said, “Intersectional solutions and approaches that work to counteract the climate crisis but also capitalism, racism, classism and other systems of oppression are important.”

These solutions are a priority in Sunrise Fairview’s fight.

Government involvement

“We have done national electoral work campaigning for congressional candidates who support a Green New Deal and protested against state politicians who refused to take more aggressive action towards mitigating climate change,” Illana said.

The Green New Deal has been championed by progressive members of Congress as a necessary outline to combat climate change.

Not only are Sunrise Fairview’s members supporting candidates’ campaigns from afar, but they are also looking to interact directly with politicians.

“[W]e are having a meeting with Joe Neguse in March to talk about this issue,” Elias said.

Representative Neguse is the congressman representing Colorado’s second congressional district, which contains Fairview, as well as Broomfield High School.

Sunrise Fairview is adamant that the government as a whole can (and must) do more to fight climate change.

“The government could be doing a lot more to incentivize large companies to reduce their CO2 emissions. As one of the largest emitters of CO2 in the world, the US has an obligation to reduce their emissions in order to combat climate change,” Michael said.

The United States emits the second-largest amount of carbon dioxide in the world, behind China.

Alli, adding on to Michael, said that the responsibility “is often put onto individuals to solve climate change when it’s really the massive corporations that need to change,” and that “it’s really important that people know that.”

According to a report published in 2017 by environmental non-profit CDP, in collaboration with the Climate Accountability Institute, 100 fossil fuel companies were linked to 71% of the greenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to the time of the study. Thirty-two percent of “historic emissions” were from “publicly-listed investor-owned companies,” a summary of the research said.

Additional advocacy

Sunrise Fairview’s mission doesn’t stop there; it continues beyond the big-picture, government-related work.

Ilana said, “[W]e’ve involved ourselves in mutual aid networks in Boulder to support our unhoused neighbors.”

It’s community engagement right here in Colorado.

Maia said, “I think the most hopeful way to approach the monolith of our issues is to find the specific ways that climate change has touched our community and focus on that”; “through mutual aid and community actions we can create a better future.”

Education also plays a role in Sunrise’s fight. Elias said, “Some people do not even know or believe in climate change,” so it’s important to, “educate people.”

Several posts on Sunrise Fairview’s Instagram page (@sunrisefairview) feature information about climate-related issues.

Outside the world of social media, there is a lot that young people (and people of all ages) can do to get involved, Ilana said: “Read, listen, learn. By joining clubs and organizations that interest you, such as Sunrise, you’ll naturally make connections with other climate organizers and continually expand your knowledge and expertise.” Ultimately, “You just need to jump in.”

“If we want a future…”

According to NASA, the consequences of climate change and global warming are—and will continue—drastically impacting the planet.

Greenhouse gas emissions have played a monumental role in climate change. And, according to scientists, their impacts will not be short-lived.

Due to the repercussions of climate change, “The Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century,” NASA said, which has a detrimental effect on Arctic wildlife populations.

In addition, large-scale weather and climate events, including hurricanes and wildfires, are being exacerbated by and becoming more frequent because of climate change.

That’s just the preamble of a long list of climate change’s myriad effects.

“If we want a future,” Elias said, “we need to take a stand now.”