Montgomery County is working to combat the climate crisis with new policies and strategies. Montgomery County’s Climate Action Plan, completed in June 2021, aims to cut 100% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 and reduce a multitude of climate-related risks. The plan details the specifics of emergency climate mobilization strategies, clean energy, education actions, funding, and much more.
However, these policy changes took years to manifest. The call for reform arose from MoCo Students on Climate, a student advocacy organization, which led the charge to advocate for key policy changes.
In September of 2019, students from all over Montgomery County came together to write a Climate Advocacy Brief holding the county accountable for not meeting necessary standards in regards to the climate crisis.
“A lot of students who are really passionate about climate justice got together and started talking about some possible things that could be established in MCPS,” said senior Maahe Kunvar, president of MoCo Students for Change. “And as a part of that process, they found that there were a lot of policies already kind of in place to enact that change, but those policies do not enact any actual tangible change in our county.”
The brief asserted that “bold, strategic, evidence-based” action needed to be taken in order for sustainability goals to be reached. “Creating that change requires giving students the right to testify, advocating for solar panels in middle schools, high schools, and ensuring that schools are getting certified as Green Schools.” This ensures “that students are practicing climate safe actions in their schools,” Kunvar said.
Noting the county’s previous setbacks in enacting past policy, the climate brief touches on key topics and outlines the core standards to which they could be improved upon in the school system. Some of these recommendations include energy efficiency and emissions, transport, education, and student leadership.
“Students are speaking clearly. We are a huge organization and a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions,” said at-large Montgomery Board of Education member Lynne Harris, a championer and supporter of this initiative. “If we don’t change, we are failing in our obligation to students, and the county is not going to meet its climate goals.”
Students focused on addressing schools as well, incorporating efficiency and sustainability in the classroom. “We had water bottle refilling stations installed in schools, and a lot of students also started testifying for electric buses, which are now being implemented,” Kunvar said. “All of that was driven just by a group of students who are really passionate about climate justice. It has been a fruitful experience because we are seeing the fruits of just the advocacy and all those testimonials today.”
Many recommendations highlighted in the brief made their way in the Climate Action Plan, including establishing excused absences from school for civic action and transitioning from diesel to electric buses. Montgomery County Public Schools currently have the largest electric bus fleet in the United States with over 1300 buses.
“Students often drive the change,” Harris said. “The MoCo Students on Climate brief that they wrote in 2019 was A-plus advocacy 101…it got everybody to pay attention and made sure that the students were major players, part of the Climate Action Plan and the MCPS sustainability policy revision.”
Now more than ever, student-run organizations pushing for climate action are thriving in Montgomery County, and students are invested in ensuring a livable future for all people.
“Students have the moral authority, not only to be a part of the conversation, but to drive the decisions,” Harris said.
Despite the challenges and the threat of the looming global climate catastrophe, MCPS students are striving to make their voices heard to better the future of the planet.
Article written by Anshi Purohit of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo courtesy of Electrek