Activists and state legislators from the Greater Lafayette area rallied Wednesday at the Indiana Statehouse for climate reform.
INDIANAPOLIS — Activists and state legislators from the Greater Lafayette area rallied Wednesday at the Indiana Statehouse for climate reform.
The "Confront the Climate Crisis" initiative and rally in support of Senate Bill 335 was spearheaded by West Lafayette junior Rahul Durai.
"It would create a statewide climate solutions task force that would work towards a climate action plan," Durai says. "It's showing a blueprint to our legislators of what Indiana climate action could look like. ... All the sectors of our carbon emissions: energy, transportation, industrial, agriculture and buildings."
The bill, which is co-authored by state Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, includes several study topics, like funding for school corporations and local government to buy solar panels and electric vehicles.
"That's something a lot of school corporations are doing, and more could do it if they had state support," Durai says. "There's a study topic about forestry and conserving our forests. There's a lot of bipartisan support for that."
State Rep. Chris Campbell, D-West Lafayette, authored a complimentary bill in the House.
"You bring together legislators, you bring together professionals from across the state. ... That's where we can really hash out those ideas, bring those experts to the table so you can start to dig in, figure out what we can do," Campbell says.
The rally comes after activists hosted a similar one in West Lafayette and lobbied local elected officials to create a climate action plan.
"I think they're just amazing," Campbell says. "They've managed to pass resolutions in both of our cities. A task force was created among our municipalities and they are making recommendations."
Now, Durai sets his sights on a statewide effort to combat climate change.
"The reality is: The State of Indiana can enact policies at a much larger scale," he says. "While local action is really important, we're, right now, focused on state action."
A similar bill last year never got a hearing. But activists and lawmakers this year are optimistic about movement on the newly filed legislation.
