climate justice, environmental justice
What to know
Climate justice refers to the idea that safe environments are a civil rights issue, recognizing that rich, privileged nations and populations have disproportionately contributed to climate change, while people of color and those living in poverty are disproportionately harmed by it. “Race — even more than class — is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country hit by climate change,” per the NAACP (referring to things like coal-fired power plants and incinerators). This idea is sometimes referred to as environmental racism (for example, how redlining policies from decades ago are linked to hotter neighborhoods today). Some climate justice advocates emphasize the need to center intersectionality in finding solutions to climate change, and to consider the potential consequences of climate mitigation efforts on underserved populations (for instance, forced relocation of people to accommodate a clean energy infrastructure project).
Environmental justice, which can include climate justice, has historically encompassed a broader effort to address the disproportionate impact of exposure to pollution on communities facing systemic discrimination. The beginning of the environmental justice movement in the US is widely credited to a predominantly Black community in Warren County, North Carolina that fought to stop a hazardous waste landfill from being developed in their community in 1982. Research and education pioneered by Professor Bunyan Bryant and others helped create a foundation for the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991. The summit established the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice that local communities have used to organize actions.
In 2023, President Biden created an Office of Environmental Justice to conduct research and develop policy solutions that address climate harms against people of color and low-income people. In the 2025 Trump administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would dismantle its Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR), moving to end programs addressing environmental health disparities.
Defining the terms being used, including statistics on impact disparities, and centering the communities most affected by climate change and environmental threats can add vital clarity and help inform effective moves toward solutions.
Additional resources
- The Principles of Environmental Justice (First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit)
- Yale Experts Explain Environmental Justice (Yale Sustainability)
- Climate Justice, Humans Rights, and the Case for Reparations (Journal of Health and Human Rights)
- The New Climate Denial (Center for Countering Digital Hate)
Summary
Climate justice refers to the idea that safe environments are a civil rights issue, recognizing that rich, privileged nations and populations have disproportionately contributed to climate change, while people of color and those living in poverty are disproportionately harmed by it. Environmental justice, which can include climate justice, has historically encompassed a broader effort to address the disproportionate impact of exposure to pollution on communities facing systemic discrimination. Defining the terms being used, including statistics on impact disparities, and centering the communities most affected by climate change and environmental threats can add vital clarity and help inform effective moves toward solutions.