Climate justice is the most urgent issue of a generation. That’s why kids are fighting mad

Climate change is a catastrophic problem affecting people all over the world. Just here in Washington we will be affected by rising sea levels which could cause many of our coastal cities, such as Port Angeles and Seattle, to flood. We will see worsening forest fires, which could burn down our old growth forests and damage our lungs. We will experience increasingly hot summers and warmer winters. But the larger problem is not climate change, it’s climate injustice.

Climate injustice is the idea that those who have contributed the least to causing climate change are the most impacted by it. Today’s youth are some of the most negatively impacted by climate change, as we will live to see its effects. Many projections say that climate change will become worse by 2050. I will be 44 in 2050, but government officials and the CEOs of gasoline companies may very well be dead. They caused it, so why should I have to live through it and not them?

I often hear about how individuals can contribute to stopping climate change. We’re told to take public transportation, drive our cars less and use less power. But these strategies are on too small of a scale to have an impact, and they allow those in power to shift the blame onto us.

Our government has the power to completely and effectively overhaul our energy system and replace our energy sources with sustainable ones. They could tax companies on carbon dioxide emissions or enact a law limiting them.

Gasoline companies could ensure that gas stations have quick and accessible ways to charge an electric car. Car companies could stop building gas-powered cars and work to make sure that electric cars are affordable for everyone.

But neither our government nor these companies are taking these actions. They are not prioritizing the lives and futures of youth everywhere. They clearly don’t see climate change as a problem that they caused, and they need to solve. This is unjust, unfair and cruel.

Here’s the reality: We aren’t powerless, and we don’t have to sit here and watch as those in power take our future away. We can sue the government to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions, like the 21 young plaintiffs in the court case Juliana v. United States. Even though they didn’t win, they led the way for more cases like theirs and proved that young people can have a voice in our government. We can sue gasoline companies to cut down on emissions, like a court case in the Netherlands, where a court ordered Shell to reduce their carbon emissions by 45% before 2030.

The lack of action on climate change means that our constitutional rights to life, liberty and property are being taken away, and we have every reason to sue.

We will fight for justice and for our future. We have no other choice.

Tayen Asplin is a 16-year-old student at IDEA High School in Tacoma. Asplin enjoys hiking, snowboarding and drawing.