Lt. Gov. Barnes Delivers Democratic Weekly Radio Address Discussing the Climate Change Task Force

Lt. Gov. Barnes Delivers Democratic Weekly Radio Address Discussing the Climate Change Task Force

Audio file of radio address

The following is Lt. Gov. Barnes’ radio address discussing Gov. Tony Evers’ executive order creating the Climate Change Task Force:

Greetings, Wisconsin! Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes here and this is a special week for us in our state.

We started it by celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the first time in Wisconsin’s history – and Thursday, Gov. Evers signed an executive order creating the Climate Change Task Force.

It’s fitting that both events happened in the same week - because our Indigenous communities have long been stewards of our land, even before the days of people like Gaylord Nelson and John Muir, who are Wisconsin heroes.

When I was sworn in as the lieutenant governor, I vowed to focus my efforts on the core principles of equity and sustainability.

This task force, along with the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy, will fall along those same lines.

Through a lens of environmental justice, these 31 individuals from every part of our state are going to help do the work that will get Wisconsin to a carbon-free clean energy future. While the goal is 100 percent by 2050, I believe we can do it much sooner.

I’m proud to help lead our state to a place where we take value in the three S’s – science, stewardship and sustainability. But there is no way I can do it alone.

That’s why I urge everyone in our state to prioritize our water, our air, and our land so that future generations can enjoy the precious resources that our Earth has to offer.

Economic development and combatting climate change shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. In fact, they should work in tandem for the betterment of our Wisconsin communities.

And let’s remember that our solutions have to be inclusive – where communities of color and low-income communities, who have long been on the front lines of the effects of climate change, are not only a part of the discussion but also a part of the solution.

Together, we can make our state, and our Earth, a place where everyone, regardless of ZIP code, has the opportunity to thrive.

Thank you!