Victoria Galea hoped to become an environmental lawyer before seeking political office but realized the planet can’t wait that long.

“We are already past the detrimental breaking point for catastrophic climate change, so that’s when I decided the time is now for me to run,” said Galea, recently acclaimed as Green party candidate in Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas for this fall’s federal election.

Galea, 23, said although her party’s platform covers a full range of issues, climate change is her key focus because urgent action is needed for Canada to meet its greenhouse gas reduction commitments in the Paris Agreement.

She said the governing Liberals are contradicting themselves on the issue by both taxing carbon emissions and spending $4.5 billion to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline, a project that will make the Paris targets impossible to meet.

It’s my direct future and we need to fix this problem in order to be sustainable. — Victoria Galea

Galea said the federal Conservatives don’t even have a plan and seem likely to follow their provincial cousins by gutting environmental programs.

She said people shouldn’t fear the economic consequences of eliminating fossil fuels because studies show renewable energy will create three to four times as many jobs.

Currently completing her master’s degree at McMaster University, Galea said she’s hopeful voters will view her youth as a plus.

“As a young person, I’m focused on our future as a planet,” the Sir Allan MacNab high school grad said. “It’s my direct future and we need to fix this problem in order to be sustainable.”

The riding is currently represented by Liberal MP Filomena Tassi. Bert Laranjo is running for the Conservatives. The NDP has yet to nominate a candidate for the election, scheduled to be held Oct. 21.

Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Bert Laranjo is running for the Conservatives.