AUGUSTA, Maine — Close to five hundred Maine students took part in ‘Youth Day of Action’ in Augusta Tuesday to demand bold action on climate change.
Many of those students holding signs and wearing shirts about climate change.
Those students say they are the future and want to see lawmakers make a change for them.
"They need to do something about this and they need to do something about the Maine new green deal. And there needs to be something done about this issue we can’t just sit on it and we need to change to renewable energy. That’s something that’s vital for me," Ellie Ralph said. Ralph is a junior at Yarmouth High School.
She says she loves her coastal town and doesn't want to see it underwater someday, instead she wants to see her kids enjoy the coastal community as well.
This support and public hearing comes just a day after Earth Day on the day state lawmakers are debating a measure to establish a Green New Deal for Maine.
The democratic-sponsored legislation aims to require electricity suppliers to supply power that is 80-percent renewable by 2024.
“Climate change isn’t just about the science and the numbers. It affects every piece of our society," bill sponsor Rep. Chloe Maxmin (D) told NEWS CENTER Maine when she first introduced the legislation.
Maxim, who insists the legislation is different from the framework introduced and ultimately defeated on the national stage, says the measure also aims to create a task force and encourage the use of solar power for public buildings.
“We need to tackle climate change in a bold and ambitious way,” Maxim said. "We need to also be aware those have implications for our social structure and economy here in Maine."
Opponents say the bill goes too far. One republican representative calling it “a solution looking for a problem."
A work session for this bill has not yet been scheduled.