The Students Are Alright: First Climate Action Forum Tuesday

Progressives, housing organizations and environmentalists have had their chance to question the mayoral and city council candidates.

Now the locals get their shot at the first-ever youth-led Climate Action Forum at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena.

“There’s going to be talk about renewable energy for Pasadena, about green mobility,” said moderator Ozzy Simpson, a senior at the Sequoyah School. “There’s a little bit of housing in there. Those are some of the main things I can think of off the top of my head. There’s some water questions, peace, stuff like that.”

Sequoyah School Senior Selina Yang, Muir Senior Felisha Davis and Edgar McGregor, a sophomore at Pasadena City College will also moderate.

“Currently, Pasadena averages 32 days per year where the temperature exceeds 95 degrees in the afternoon,” McGregor said. “By 2050, that number could skyrocket to 74 afternoons per year and by 2100, it can be as high as 117 afternoons per year. This is increasingly becoming a big problem and we should probably address it as soon as possible.”

Mayoral candidates
Mayoral candidates will participate in their own portion of the forum from 6 to 7 p,m. followed by city council candidates from 7 to 8 p.m.

All of the mayoral candidates, incumbent Terry Tornek, Victor Gordo, Jason Hardin and Major Williams will attend according to the forum organizers.

District candidates
In District 2, Tricia Keane, Kevin Litwin and Felicia Williams will participate. According to event organizers, only Charlotte Bland will represent District 4. In District 6, Ryan Bell, Tamerlin Godley and incumbent Steve Madison will attend.

When asked what they hoped to accomplish by holding the forum, Yang said they hoped to raised awareness about climate action locally and making the Pasadena City Council aware that youth cares and that the local city can do something.

“Another thing is to see how the upcoming candidates plan to make Pasadena more eco-friendly. The election is in March and we want to make a very responsible decision.”

The event is sponsored by the Pasadena Youth, Sunrise Sequoyah hub, Pasadena Environmental Advocates, Day One, Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, League of Women Voters, and at least one other unnamed organization.

Local students have repeatedly called on the Pasadena City Council to declare a climate emergency. On Monday, Simpson and Yang repeated the call before the City Council.

City Council members responded by asking the students to get involved in the dialogue to strengthen the city’s Climate Action Plan.

In October, 90 scientists from 40 countries said in an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that if humans don’t take immediate, action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040, the planet will face irreversible consequences that will alter the natural systems of the planet, resulting in more natural disasters, droughts, famine, wildfires, floods and hurricanes.

In order to prevent that catastrophic future, global carbon emissions will have to be reduced by 40 percent by 2030.

The public may make a reservation to attend the Pasadena Climate Action Forum by clicking here.