With the results of the 2020 Election, climate activists are eager to prepare for the next big steps they will be taking towards fighting against climate change in Iowa. Two of the main organizations involved with taking action toward climate change are the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids Sunrise Hubs and Cedar Waspies Sierra Club. These organizations along with Kimberly Graham and many other activists will be hosting a post-election summit through Zoom regarding the future of Iowa climate policies Thursday, November 12 at six p.m.

“This is an amazing opportunity for students to get their voices heard and really take action on what needs to be changed. It’s never too late for someone to start learning about the environment,” Jennie Gidal 23’ said. “I hope to learn a lot about what needs to be done from going to this because I just recently joined the Sunrise Movement and I hope to learn more about what I can do to help.”

The future new administration promises they will act on climate policies such as pushing the Green New Deal nationally. This policy could create a significant difference for climate change activists and organizations who strive to create change through policies like the Green New Deal.

“Climate Change is something that is hard to realize the impact of because it may not affect us that much as teenagers. But when you do your research you can see how much of the world is really affected by natural disasters, habitat loss, and things that will really destroy the planet,” Gidal said.

During this upcoming summit, the Sunrise Hub plans on taking the opinions and ideas shared at this event and brainstorm actions that can be taken to accomplish them. They hope to have monthly coalition meetings if they receive exceptional participation during their first one.

“These topics are really important to address because there’s so much [that] humans have done to harm the earth. The least we can do is try and reverse some of what we’ve done,” Gidal said. “We need to really push our representatives to act on [climate change] because they can do a lot more than we can.”

Link to sign up for this event: https://www.mobilize.us/iowacitysunrisemovement/event/359097/?rname=Jennie&share_context=event_details&share_medium=copy_link