Ex-Trump aide Corey Lewandowski to testify before House committee – live

Senator Ed Markey, a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, joined Democrats and young climate activists in Capitol Hill to warn against the perils of inaction in the face of what he called the “economic, national security, health and moral crisis of our time”.

“We are head to demand action today because tomorrow is too late,” Markey said, adding that the US has a “historic responsibility” and a “moral obligation” to act.

He was joined by Swedish teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg, who will visit with lawmakers and speak before a panel on Capitol Hill Tuesday and Wednesday. Thunberg, who was praised as the “spark plug” of this global youth movement, did not speak at the press conference to make way for her American and South American counterparts.

The press conference kicks off a week of events ahead of a strike on Sept. 20.

Artemisa Barbosa Ribeiro, an indigenous youth activist from Brazil, said the US and Brazil must “stop being a part of the problem”. She called on the governments - and their climate skeptic leaders - to accept the science around climate change, to comply with international climate accords and protect indigenous rights as part of the solution.

Nadia Nazar, the 17-year-old co-founder of the climate change group Zero Hour, said she is not a part of “Gen Z” but a part of “Gen GND” - the Green New Deal.

“We refuse to be the last generation,” she said. “We will no longer be known as the kids fighting the apocalypse, we will be known as the solution to the climate crisis.”

Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono said she is baffled when she hears skeptics say they don’t “believe” that the climate is warming.

“When I hear things like, ‘I don’t believe in climate change,’ I want to say — ‘What do you think this is a religion? No, this is not a religion, it’s whether you’re going to base your position on facts,” she said.