Students Displaced by Palisades Fire to Host Climate-Action Livestream

The event, titled “Students Unite to Fight Climate Change,” will feature a student panel calling for passage of the stalled Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act,

Students from Palisades Charter High School and Santa Monica High School, displaced by the deadly 2025 Palisades Fire, plan to host a global livestream Jan. 24 to share firsthand accounts of the disaster and advocate for climate action.

The event, titled “Students Unite to Fight Climate Change,” will feature a student panel calling for passage of the stalled Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act, which would require fossil fuel companies to fund damages from climate-related events.

Organizer Maria Knierim, a Palisades Charter High senior who lost her home and has moved seven times since the fire, said the legislation is critical.

“We barely escaped alive. I saw my neighborhood disappear,” Knierim said in a statement. “Polluters must pay for their part in this, rather than saddling our communities, Altadena included, with this historic, unjust burden.”

The schools previously joined for a protest supporting the bill.

The livestream, starting at 11 a.m. PST, is organized by Fridays for Future and groups including Climate Talks for Everyone, NAZCCA.org, Resilient Palisades, Climate Action Santa Monica and Third Act SoCal.

Organizers are encouraging worldwide watch parties and collecting petition signatures urging officials to revive the measure.

Register for the livestream at https://actionnetwork.org/events/pacific-palisades-students-have-had-enough/