PASSING THE RESOLUTION
Carmel Youth move City Council to act on Climate
Carmel becomes the First City in Indiana to Pass a Climate Resolution
Promise Project 1 reached a milestone on February 20, 2017 when the Carmel City Council voted unanimously to pass the Climate Resilience and Recovery Resolution. The resolution shows the city’s commitment to protecting the quality of life for our children and grandchildren. Carmel made history by becoming the first city in Indiana to pass a climate resolution.
Here are excerpts of Youth Leader statements at the February 20, 2017 Carmel City Council meeting:
“My generation is afraid of what the future will be if we continue on the path we are on…we are counting on you, as our leaders … to be on the right side of history by keeping your promise to protect our future. We have a right to a clean, healthy, and beautiful world that we wish for ourselves and the generations to come.”
~ Miranda Frausto, CHS senior
“…the leadership portrayed by our councilmen and women tonight is truly inspiring. Real Leaders do not do things that are politically expedient, leaders stand up for what is right and for the rights of others and most importantly for the future of coming generations. …. Carmel has shown every mayor and every citizen of the state of Indiana what standing up for what is right looks like.”
~Jose Ortuzar, CHS junior
“If my home city is … making an effort towards reversing climate change, then I can go to bed more optimistic about the future.”
~Ben Rayhill, International School sophomore
“It scares me that the current excess climate and environmental changes put our solitary home at risk. We are headed for more extreme weather events, droughts and floods, and they will be very costly to Indiana residents, businesses and agriculture. This is why I want you…to please pass our…resolution.”
~Alex Workman, CHS freshman
“I would like to see this resolution passed because I don’t want to live in a future, where climate change is a principle cause of many global issues and problems…”
~Jodh Pullela, CHS freshman
“Will today’s walk in the woods, with all its fauna and flora, be lost to paperback memories? Restoring a normal world will be harder once the world has so completely changed. Why take the risk? By failing to address climate change then we will have failed in our responsibility as stewards of this planet.”
~Natalie Workman, Creekside Middle School, 7th grade
Carmel Green Initiative applauds the Mayor, Carmel City Councilors and our Youth Leaders for their leadership and encourages other cities to follow their lead. For example, Indianapolis used our resolution as a starting point and was able to leapfrog the whole process of drafting a resolution from scratch. The Indianapolis city-county council passed a climate resolution on Feb 27, 2017.
See youth-led victories in other cities below.
.
FEBRUARY 20, 2017 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
(From Matt Workman and Bob Rayhill)
NEWS MEDIA
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CLIMATE RESOLUTION
The Climate Resolution was a collaborative process including input from Mayor Brainard, Carmel City Councilors, Promise Project Youth Leaders and Carmel Green Initiative. The resolution has four parts: 1) The Whereas part explains all the reasons why the city should act on climate, based on many science-based references in Exhibit A; 2) The Therefore part explains what the city is promising to do; 3) The signature section shows you who voted for it. And, in the upper right corner of every page, you’ll see who sponsored the resolution; and 4) Exhibit A provides hyperlinks to the science based references mentioned in the first part.
Here’s what Carmel’s climate resolution is promising to do:
NEXT STEPS
The City obtained a baseline measurement to help establish targets and a timeline for a climate action plan. Read more here.
.
YOUTH-LED VICTORIES IN OTHER CITIES