Kentucky Youth Climate Strike is a statewide movement of middle school, high school, and college aged students fighting for bold climate action across our State. We’re defending our right to a safe, livable future with

true liberation for everyone.

Through direct actions/climate strikes, advocacy, and community building, we empowering each other (youth) to take on the corrupt individuals and groups that have created the climate crisis and fail to act on it here in Kentucky.

THEORY OF CHANGE

The climate justice movement will never independently accomplish its demands. History has proven time and time again that it takes more than enthusiastic individuals and direct action to make real, systemic change. The greatest objective of our movement and our organization is to integrate the demands of climate justice into a broad, intersectional working class movement.

OUR PLATFORM

1. NET ZERO

We support Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2030 as is necessary in order to stay below a 2 degrees Celsius climate temperature increase, which is described to be catastrophic for ecosystems.

2. DISABILITIES

The Youth Climate Strike stands by the need for medical, economic, social, and political reparations for those disabled by the climate crisis via methods such as:

Trustworthy free healthcare for those impaired.
All infrastructure is improved upon and made handicapped accessible.
Sustainable and well-maintained accessibility measures for people with disabilities is a priority, so that no one's entrance into a space is inconvenient or outright denied because of their disability.
Green aids, consistent access to medication despite economic position is essential.
Education programs should be modified to include visibility to disabled communities.
All active disaster relief efforts need to include accessibility measures in all aspects to avoid people with disabilities being neglected during an active crisis situation.

3. INFRASTRUCTURE

We support a green new deal for public transportation and the institution of high speed rail throughout the continental United States.
Increase green streets.
We support the increased designation of more of the road towards bike lanes
We support the reinvestment of public funds used for the maintenance of various roads into the production of effective Public Transportation.

4. AGRICULTURE

We support the socialization of privately owned, but unproductive land (often used for tax breaks) for the purpose of national food security and/or reforestation

We support the use of all the methods of the state, be they incentives, oversight or public seizure in order to ensure the sustainable production livestock.

We support the use of government instituted incentives, regulation and oversight in order to increase the amount of sustainable food choices in grocery stores.
We support the institution of public food gardens, which would provide vegetables and other supplementary food items to the communities without access to these goods.
Access to healthier foods / combat food desert
We support the restriction/outlawing of certain environmentally harmful industrial-agricultural fertilizers.
We support the better management and distribution of food waste into compost and other sustainable options

5. RENEWABLES

We support the full move to 100% renewable energy production by 2030. We support a comprehensive plan for the social ownership and AI oversight over the National Power Grid.

6. INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND DECOLONIZATION

We demand the full protection and restoration of the rights of indigenous people, including (but not limited to) cultural, social, economic, political and full self determination over the lands designated via treaties (including ones violated by the US government). We support a full and comprehensive plan for decolonization and self determination of all oppressed nationalities and colonies in the United States.

7. HOUSING

We demand a comprehensive sustainable housing plan which is energy efficient, renewable safely constructed, affordable by method of rent control and Combats gentrification, exclusionary zoning, segregation, and speculation. We support a move towards vertical housing in the form of skyscrapers, rather than the horizontal expansion of housing.

8. JUST TRANSITION

-We demand a comprehensive just transition plan that builds dual power & counter institutions that will shift the economic, social and political paradigm from an extractive, capitalist economy into a regenerative, socialist economy.

-We support bringing the national power grid under democratic workers control.

-We support funding reeducation policies to retrain workers who were employed in polluting industries

-We will build dual power and counter institutions

-Production and consumption is to be approached holistically

-A general move to public ownership of the means of production -A move away from extractive capitalist economics towards a regenerative socially planned economy. I.e. a move away from goods that are produced and distributed for the purpose and the assumption of sale, towards the production and distribution of goods for use, and the fulfillment of human needs.

-Federal Jobs Guarantee

9. EDUCATION

-We demand a comprehensive education plan that will greatly expand the curriculum about the climate crisis and its effects.

-We support expanding the curriculum around the education of climate change into its intersections in other classes such as economics, social studies, and more.

-How climate change effects the wealth gap

-We support increasing public funding for climate research

-Ecofeminism

-We support expanding school curriculums to include education about how the climate crisis will harm disabled people.

-Environmental Justice centered curriculum

10. MARINE BIODIVERSITY

We demand a comprehensive plan to protect and restore marine biodiversity nationally and internationally.

11. PUBLIC LAND CONSERVATION

We demand a comprehensive plan to protect all vulnerable ecosystems and the public ownership and management of the stated vulnerable ecosystems.

12. RECYCLING

We demand a comprehensive recycling plan to manage the distribution of our waste, and recycle harmful heavy metals.

13. DISASTER RELIEF

We demand a comprehensive plan for increased funding and disaster relief infrastructure in coastline communities.

14. CLIMATE MIGRATION

We demand a comprehensive plan to support immigrants fleeing from the climate crisis by allowing residence and establishing programs to support them once they arrive.

15. INTERNATIONAL TRADE

We demand an end to nonrenewable energy subsidies. We demand an end to unfair ad exploitative WTO rules that favor multinational companies exploiting land and labor in the Global South.

16. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Reparations for indigenous people, reparations for black people, reparations for marginalized communities that have been impacted by pollution. Health care for marginalized communities that have been impacted by pollution . Zoning laws that do not perpetuate environmental racism.