FOR A GREEN SCHOOLS CAMPAIGN

WHEREAS, climate change is an urgent crisis confronting people all over the world: Extreme weather, forest fires, increased infectious disease outbreaks, rising sea levels and pollution are wreaking havoc on the planet; and

WHEREAS, communities of color are disproportionately impacted by pollution, climate change and resulting extreme temperatures, causing forced migration from Puerto Rico and Central America, increased frequency and intensity of flooding and erosion, respiratory illnesses that exacerbate COVID-19 outcomes, and increased pregnancy risks especially for Black mothers; and

WHEREAS, the climate crisis exacerbates already existing systemic injustices along racial, regional, social and economic lines, having a disproportionate impact on “frontline communities” (including Indigenous communities, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities and youth); and

WHEREAS, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agrees that to avert this catastrophe, we need “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of our society” to reduce world carbon emissions to 50 percent of current levels by 2030 and to net-zero emissions by 2050; and

WHEREAS, buildings are the fourth-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and it is essential for our union to take concrete steps to demand a green transformation at the sites where we have the most power: our schools; and

WHEREAS, drastic improvements to many public school buildings are long overdue, including a need to replace outdated and ineffective heating and cooling systems; improve ventilation and insulation; and remediate asbestos, lead and mold that pose a risk to students and staff; and

WHEREAS, millions of Americans are out of work and in need of good jobs as soon as possible:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers will endorse and promote a campaign for green schools to demand that the U.S. Department of Education advocate that states and municipalities do their part to mitigate and prepare for the unfolding climate crisis by doing the following:

• Retrofit and weatherize public schools to make them healthier and energy efficient. 
• Remediate schools for lead, asbestos and mold.
• Install new electric, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems that save money and the planet, and keep our buildings’ temperature better regulated. 
• Install new ventilation systems that prevent COVID-19, and also provide heat and energy recovery by using outgoing air to heat or cool incoming air.
• Install solar panels at public schools to produce clean energy and provide cooling centers and electricity to communities during heat waves, disasters and power outages.
• Support the integration of school solar and other green technology with climate justice curriculum across the grade levels. 
• Source 100 percent of the energy used by public schools from renewable sources.
• Expand solar energy career programs to support a pathway to green careers for students. 
• Implement school composting programs, community gardening, and other sustainable practices to reduce public schools’ carbon footprint and address food deserts and other community needs.
• Work with unions to train and hire unemployed parents and public school alumni from their local neighborhoods with the highest unemployment rates to do this remediating, retrofitting and solarization work. 
• Prioritize schools serving low-income students and communities hardest hit by the impacts of COVID-19, environmental racism and systemic disinvestment.

Adopted 9/29/2022