In our work, we talk a lot about how the climate crisis is going to affect everyone and everything, and this is undeniably true. However, a side to this same story that we talk about less often is how the impacts of climate change do not affect everyone equally. This crisis is disproportionately impacting marginalized communities including women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, other abled individuals, and neighborhoods of lower socioeconomic status.

In the YCLP we recognize that joining the fight against the climate crisis doesn't just mean combating climate change. It also means fighting for social justice because this is first and foremost a human rights issue. Our planning team is committed to prioritizing Environmental Justice as our number one issue moving forward. This means we will be working to ensure that everyone on the frontline of these impacts in Western Massachusetts has a leading voice in this evolving conversation.

We believe that in order to continue fighting for our right to a livable future we must advocate for the protection of not only our planet but also all of our people.

Therefore, the theme of this year's Youth Climate Summit is Environmental Justice and Intersectionality. Our goals for this event include:

• Working to make activism more equitable and accessible.

• Creating a safe, youth-led space for students to share our intersectional climate stories.

• Providing a platform to inspire further education and collaboration around sustainable solutions that work to combat climate change through intersectional, non-violent direct action.