Climate Justice Initiative

Global climate change has a disproportionate impact on communities of color in the United States and around the world. The NAACP Climate Justice Initiative was created to educate and mobilize communities to address this human and civil rights issue.

               

When folks think about climate change, the first things some people think of are melting ice caps and suffering polar bears. However, many fail to make the connection in terms of the direct impact on our own lives, families, and communities.

Climate Change is about Katrina, Rita, and Ike devastating communities in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas, Climate Change is about our sisters and brothers in the Bahamas who will be losing their homes to rising sea levels in the coming few years. Climate Change is about people in Detroit, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere who have died and are dying of exposure to toxins from coal fired power plants.

Climate Change is about sisters and brothers in West Virginia who are breathing toxic ash from blasting for mountain top removal. Climate Change is about our folks in Thibodeaux, Louisiana who are being forced to move within the next 10 years because rising sea levels will result in the submersion of the coastal land that is their home currently.

It's about the fact that race--over class--is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in this country. Climate change is about the fact that in our communities it is far easier to find a bag of Cheetos than a carton of strawberries.

Climate Change is about us.

Blog Posts

Posted on May 09, 2013

The NAACP Supports the Clean Vehicle Emission Standards

Millions of people are suffering across the country from the exposure to near roadway air pollutions and low income African Americans are suffering even more because we are the main population who live by these roadways.

Posted on May 02, 2013

Bridging the Gap: Connecting Black Communities to the Green Economy

Bridging the Gap brought together people from universities, labor organizations, environmental organizations and entrepreneurs, as well as grassroots organizers nd policy advocates to develop an action agenda to reframe the green economy in terms of justice and equity.

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Tanea Jackson, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Fellow

A Climate Justice Message on Earth Day

NAACP Director of the Environmental and Climate Justice, Jacqueline Patterson, was the main speaker at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Monday, to kick off their week-long of events to celebrate Earth Day.

Posted on April 12, 2013 by by Dorcas R. Gilmore, Assistant General Counsel

Community Ownership, Leadership, and Inclusion Required in the Green Economy

To combat disparities and expand the possibilities for work, ownership, well-being, and justice, we must advance economic models that value and enhance democratic participation, individual and community assets, and shared wealth creation.