If climate change is our biggest existential threat as a nation, it goes hand-in-hand with another national crisis: our ever-widening gulf of inequality.
Today, Jay announced a plan to address both with his Community Climate Justice plan. His plan will advance environmental, economic, and racial justice and build an inclusive, clean energy economy for all.
For too long, lawmakers have treated climate change and economic inequality as two separate crises — but the reality is that they are inextricably linked.
The facts are clear: The impacts of climate change and pollution disproportionately hurt marginalized communities, and they are major contributing factors in ongoing racial and income inequality.
Recent studies have shown that Hispanic Americans and African Americans suffer from more harmful air pollution than white Americans. Another recent study showed that historically “redlined” communities –communities of color that have faced housing discrimination — suffer double the amount of air pollution and 2.4 times the number of hospital admissions for asthma compared to other neighborhoods in the same cities.
Jay’s plan to address this is three-fold. To achieve community-led climate justice, he’s committed to:
Putting justice at the center of America’s climate mission by mapping and addressing the disparate impacts of pollution and inequality throughout the country and forming a new White House Council on Environmental Justice.
Building wealth from the bottom-up in frontline communities by committing a massive wave of reinvestment in our economy, clean energy, clean water, and affordable housing.
Supporting working families and empowering community leadership for a just transition off of fossil fuels to a new American energy economy.
Defeating the climate crisis is also about leveling the playing field — and Jay’s plan does exactly that.
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