(CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont teamed up with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Oregon's Rep. Earl Blumenauer on Tuesday to unveil a new resolution that would declare climate change a national emergency.

"There is a climate emergency which demands a massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse, and address its consequences and causes," the bill's authors wrote. While it does not call for specific action, the legislation states in sharp terms that climate change is a human-made problem that threatens the fortunes of millions of Americans and demands immediate political action."

The largely symbolic legislation has little chance of making any headway in the Republican-held Senate, but it provides Sanders -- who has proposed radical steps to effectively wipe out the fossil fuel industry -- with a tangible example of his efforts to take on major problems of particular concern to young voters.

While the Senate resolution originates out of Sanders' Capitol Hill office, it has obvious implications in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. The Vermont independent has found himself lagging behind former Vice President Joe Biden, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a progressive ally who recently rolled out a preview of her vision for the Green New Deal , is surging. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, too, is enjoying a post-debate bump. Sanders and his team have projected confidence despite the bouncing poll numbers, plowing ahead with policy rollouts and proposals designed to highlight his progressive credentials and priorities.

His campaign has also attempted to build the case that his brand of progressive politics is consistent and unique -- with this legislation as a prime example. Sanders said that setting to work building a coalition of world leaders to address climate change, while confronting fossil fuel industry leaders, would be at the top of his to-do list on his first day as president.

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