Envisioning
a cleaner, greener, and more equitable future gives me hope. That vision led me
to engage in SDSN USA’s Zero Carbon Action Plan
(ZCAP) development process in
2020. I saw it as an opportunity to learn and to think more about renewable
energy and transportation, aspects of environmental work that have not been
part of my own professional experiences. My work has involved learning,
teaching, and working to promote biodiversity conservation, education,
environmental justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. My focus within the
planning process was in reviewing Chapter 3. Industrial Policy, Employment,
and Just Transition. While the report addresses some aspects of an
equitable transition, much work remains. These questions will help to integrate
equity into planning and implementation:
Who
is most impacted by climate change and fossil fuel extraction?
I have asthma and keep
thinking of people who have a hard time breathing - coal miners dying of black
lung, increasing numbers of children
and adults around the country
whose asthma is exacerbated by vehicle exhaust, smoke from wildfires, and emissions from factories
and waste treatment plants, which are often located in low-income communities.
During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, the protests for racial justice, and the
California wildfires made a larger number of people acutely aware of breath.
Too often, those who cannot breathe with ease are effectively invisible. We
need to work to identify those most at risk from air pollution and the
compounding impact of hotter summers and more severe weather. We also need to
understand what groups and communities are most at risk from severe storms,
flooding, and other threats related to climate change.
What
stories are we telling? Whose stories matter in framing an equitable
transition?
Most of us make sense of the world through specific stories. By including,
learning from, and publicizing the stories of those most impacted by climate
change and the extraction and processing of fossil fuels makes those people and
their needs become more visible. The ZCAP describes the goals of one group of
storytellers, a collective called Our
Climate Voices.
They use ethical storytelling principles to collaboratively tell the stories of
environmental protectors. However, the members of this collective and the
people featured in their stories did not actually take part in the development process.
Engaging this collective and other storytellers would make policy work more
vital and relevant to the general public. Their stories could inspire new
policies, actions, and innovation.
What
do students and the general public know about climate change and how they can
help to reverse it?
We need all students to be environmentally literate: ideas about climate change,
environmental justice, and green careers need to be more strongly embedded
within policies, standards (Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core
Standards) and curricula nationwide. Since curricula are developed by states,
this work needs to be led at the state level. Schools need to prioritize environmental
solutions, green careers, and civic engagement. Schools and universities must
prioritize more holistic, inquiry-based
approaches in both K-12 and
undergraduate contexts. Organizations that already support this work include
the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) and their state chapters,
the National Science Teachers' Association (NSTA), and the National
Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF).
Are
we creating new opportunities for service and civic engagement?
Volunteering with Zulene
Mayfield and the Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (CRQL) while in college in the late
1990s shaped my own understanding of the cumulative impacts of environmental
injustice. Integrating service and civic engagement into middle school, high
school, and university courses helps young people to understand the importance
of voting, engagement in the political process, and service to their community.
Volunteers also extend the ability of underfunded grassroots organizations to
serve local communities. Engaging and supporting local communities should be an
integral part of policies and planning to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Are
we investing in innovators, entrepreneurs, and early-career professionals?
Green career programs within
community colleges and in high schools are particularly useful, since they
address existing inequities that make skilled careers inaccessible to
individuals without college degrees. Organizations like the Greening
Youth Foundation
provide training for young people. We must ensure that young people and people
transitioning away from fossil fuel extraction gain access to jobs and
opportunities for advancement. Once they find employment, we must ensure that
they feel supported and included within their companies. In writing this blog
post, I spoke with one of my former students, Geena Peyton. Geena began working
for a large renewable energy organization in the Midwest soon after graduating last
spring. She has learned an enormous amount through that opportunity, including
about the value that young people can bring to a field that is aging and
lacking in diversity (gender, age, and ethnicity) – a topic that is addressed explicitly
in the ZCAP just transition chapter. She noted that some people treat their
work in the renewables field as a way to pay the bills – and that is important
– many of those people have families, mortgages, and varied priorities. Work is
a matter of economic survival and green careers can provide a critically
important safety net. For many of the younger people in Geena’s field, their
work is their way of guaranteeing the survival of their own children on a
rapidly warming planet. Geena said, “I wanted to get in the industry because my
future and the future of my children depends on its success.”
Do
we have a clear vision of an equitable and sustainable future?
Are the policies, projects,
and activities we propose meeting the basic needs of all people? Are we
enabling people and biodiversity to thrive? Are we providing opportunities for
all people to pursue their dreams regardless of their backgrounds? An equitable
transition means all of these things, and it is harder to work towards what we
cannot envision. We should understand what is at risk but also what might be possible.
We must work to understand the needs, goals, and potential contributions of
teachers, innovators, farmers, healers, artists, activists, and professionals
within the renewable energy sector and related fields. In a media landscape
dominated by stories of corruption, scandal, and tragedy, it is difficult to
find such inspiration. Two videos in the intercept are useful examples,
illustrating the possibilities presented by the Green New Deal
and in the aftermath of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Who
will have a role in influencing the transition from plan to action? It is important to include
the voices of economists, scholars, and policy makers. However, there are so
many groups we must include if the transition to renewable energy is to be
equitable: activists, farmers, miners, innovators, teachers, students, and so many
others. We must include the perspectives and ideas of individuals and
organizations fighting for those who are most exposed, affected by, and
vulnerable to climate change and fossil fuel extraction. There are many
relevant environmental justice scholars, activists, and organizations (such as those
listed below) whose work should be better integrated into policy and planning
activities for a just zero carbon transition in the US.
What
is the role of young people at each stage of this process? This is Geena’s question. Many
of us were inspired by Greta Thunberg and youth-led climate activism in 2019.
While there are only a few recognizable faces, there are young leaders in every
school and every community. How can we most effectively utilize the energy,
talent, imagination, and vision of young people as we work towards a greener
and more equitable future?
Going
forward, it gives me hope that America’s Zero Carbon Action Plan exists and
that we have opportunities to extend it in ways that prioritize equity and
justice.
It gives me hope that individuals who center the environment
and social justice will be leading the entities that can enact change, such as
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, and the
Council on Environmental Quality. It is not only their professional experience,
but their personal stories that will shape their potential to advocate for the
historically marginalized, dispossessed, and underrepresented. However, it is
not only these leaders who need to be at the table. We each need to take part
in the transition, we must each ask questions, and we must each open doors for
people who have had fewer opportunities in our communities.
Relevant
Groups:
- There
are many ways to promote environmental justice and there are numerous
individuals and organizations involved in this work. Here are some, but there
are many others, including within government agencies:
- This
list from 1% for the Planet features a range of nonprofits fighting for social
& environmental justice,
with emphasis on equitable access to nature, service, food justice,
regenerative agriculture, and education.
- The
NAACP has compiled a list of organizations
promoting environmental justice,
including those focused on activism and youth organizing.
- The Indigenous
Environmental Network
involves indigenous led activism and includes a recorded series of webinars
on Indigenous Women and
Feminism. Both that site and Indigenous Women Rising
feature leaders from
throughout the Americas.
- WE
ACT works to support and organize residents of communities impacted by
environmental injustice, and they
describe their work here.
- The Solutions Network
provides grants, media
support, and networking opportunities to grassroots climate changemakers and
innovators.
- Our Climate
Voices is a collective of storytellers who focus on the
stories of the people most impacted by climate change.
