I’ve been fighting climate change for 25 years, and I’ve never seen a movement for climate action like the one we are witnessing today. A new generation is speaking with moral clarity about the need for bold action to defeat the climate crisis, with a new focus and intensity. Varshini Prakash—the executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which has fiercely advocated for proposals like the Green New Deal—is one of those visionary leaders who are fighting for their futures. I believe that 2019 will be remembered as a turning point for the climate: Varshini and other young leaders have permanently fixed climate change into the nation’s conscience as a moral imperative, an issue of economic justice and a way to create millions of jobs across America. Personally, I find the leadership of Varshini and the Sunrise Movement to be some of the greatest sources for hope in our fight against the climate crisis. The young people are leading this fight, and because of them, we will all win.
Inslee, a Democrat, is the governor of Washington