Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says That Climate Change Is The ‘Civil Rights Movement’ Of Our Generation

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke at a town hall organized by Bernie Sanders on Monday, and during her speech, she told crowds that climate change would be a fight of a lifetime, likening it to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The Hill reports that the New York politician said that the fight to address global warming will be as momentous as putting a man on the moon, and called for the Trump administration to be “courageous” when it comes to fighting carbon emissions.

“This is going to be the Great Society, the Moon Shot, the Civil Rights Movement of our generation. That is the scale of the ambition that this movement is going to require,” she told the crowd.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders organized the “Climate Change Town Hall,” which was held at the U.S. Capitol, in order to address what he calls the global threat of climate change. During the town hall, Ocasio-Cortez challenged the Trump administration to take a bolder stance to address global warming, saying that the current administration had turned to fear instead of courage.

“It’s unsurprising that the response to any bold proposal that we have is to incite fear. To incite fear of loss, to incite fear of others. To incite fear of our future. But the only way we are going to get out of this situation is to be courageous,” she said.

Sanders also joined in the call for action, saying that the scientific community was united in its desire to see political action to address climate change. He pointed to the recent report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the report from the United States government, which Trump has said he does not believe. Sanders said that the two reports show the same conclusion and that is that we are in a “crisis situation” that calls for unprecedented action.

“We are dealing with what the scientific community tells us is the great crisis facing our planet and facing humanity, and that is climate change,” the Vermont senator said.

He also blasted his colleagues for taking corporate donations from the fossil-fuel industry.

“We need a #JustTransition—for families in Puerto Rico suffering from climate disaster, and for coal miners in West Virginia who are losing their jobs. That’s what a #GreenNewDeal is all about.”—@Ocasio2018 at the @SenSanders #ClimateTownHall pic.twitter.com/7SBdTDVvQW

— Sunrise Movement ? (@sunrisemvmt) December 4, 2018

Ocasio-Cortez is known for her stance on climate change, having run on an aggressive platform for addressing global warming. Recently, she took part in a protest at democratic California Senator Nancy Pelosi’s office, calling on Pelosi and other elected leaders to enact a “New Green Deal.” Part of the deal would require government representatives to forgo any donations from fossil fuel companies.