Federal News in Brief

Youths Promote Presidential Debate on Environmental Policy for 2020

By Sasha Jones — May 07, 2019 1 min read
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A student-led petition urging 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to debate on environmental policy has garnered more than 51,000 signatures since its posting nearly three weeks ago.

The campaign, launched by U.S. Youth Climate Strike activists, wants all candidates to commit to participating in a debate or forum on the issue.

So far, five candidates—U.S. Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel, and Gov. Jay Inslee—have expressed their support for a debate. Inslee also has a different petition on his website specifically encouraging the Democratic National Committee to host a climate debate.

The recent petition is a part of a wave of student activism related to climate change.

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A version of this article appeared in the May 08, 2019 edition of Education Week as Youths Promote Presidential Debate on Environmental Policy for 2020

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