University of Kentucky officials have pledged to reduce carbon emissions on campus by 25 percent by 2025.

The announcement by President Eli Capilouto last month credited student organizations, who have pressured the administration to do more to address climate change for several years.

“We have been building a strong model for sustainability on this campus for more than a decade,” Capilouto said. “Now, with the leadership of our students, faculty and staff — particularly the President’s Sustainability Advisory Committee — we are ready to take this next, important step forward.”

The student organization Greenthumb first started pushing the administration to do more in 2012. Greenthumb is part of the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition, a statewide network of environmental groups at 22 campuses.

“It has been really awesome to see the hard work of past and current student members of Greenthumb pay off,” said Greenthumb coordinator Taylor Renfro. “It’s important to know that as students we have a voice. I hope that this inspires other students and student organizations to keep working towards their goals of higher standards for their university.”

Fifteen-year-old KSEC Political Working Group Media chair Grace Engelman says bipartisan support is critical for job opportunities for young Kentuckians as “climate change issues” will affect them most.

“Kentucky has always been an energy leader, and right now we are falling behind, because new energy is renewable energy, so it's important that Kentucky stays ahead by diversifying its energy portfolio,” said Engelman.
Perhaps it is best to look at the bill as an economic focus rather than energy said Engleman.
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“Energy related legislation is just hard to pass in Kentucky because of how depressed our coal industry has become and a lot of legislators fear that passing this type legislation will make their constituents unhappy because a lot people see renewable energy as taking away from coal--when in reality coa,l is declining on its own because it's becoming more and more expensive to extract.” Engleman added that future jobs lie within the renewable market.

An organization representing student environmental groups across the Commonwealth has called on Senators to reject President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the EPA.  
Tyler Hill with the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition, a network of students from 22 high school, college and university campuses, says Trump’s pick of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt “actively misleads the public” through an anti-climate change viewpoint.  

There was also one smaller group that did not chant either candidate’s name. That group of young voters said they want to hear the candidates address environmental issues.
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“It’s not that we don’t support either one, it’s that we want to push both of them to actually discuss these issues so we don’t feel like we’re settling for a leader that doesn’t represent the young demographic,” said Marriah Harrod with the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition.