Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, where Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) expressed approval for the agency's efforts to engage with young people on the climate crisis, namely in the form of the National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC).
"Many Floridians recognize that their future is at stake in discussions about climate policy. We [Florida] are a frontline community, a frontline state," Rep. Frost began before describing how the NEYAC held its inaugural summit in February, asking Administrator Regan what policy recommendations he had for the EPA.
Regan appreciatively said Rep. Frost's appearance at the summit "gave us some street cred," as several youth speakers said the EPA had an "ineffective ability to communicate and connect with young people. You know, bringing the bureaucratic conversations down a notch, and so we have looked at our educational outreach, our social media strategies to be sure that our information is getting to folks."
Frost then cited a May report by the EPA demonstrating how climate change affects children, namely that as weather fluctuations increase in severity, respiratory problems become more common.
"Some of the key findings highlighted how climate change is expected to increase the incidence of asthma in children, increase asthma-related emergency department visits, increase climate-driven temperature increases that are projected to result in four to seven percent reductions in academic achievement per child, and also if no additional adaptations are taken, one to two million children are estimated to experience temporary home displacement or complete home loss due to the climate crisis," the Florida Congressman cited before asking Regan how young people are being allowed to voice their concerns.
Regan said new policies are adopted procedurally with input from NEYAC to "ensure that they have this level of information each session."
Frost concluded his time speaking with Regan by thanking him for forming NEYAC, saying, "Young people are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis. And I think we all know that the cost of not doing anything is far greater than the cost of waiting. We have to ensure that we defeat the climate crisis and do everything we can."
