What Is Climate Justice?

CLIMATE JUSTICE IS A SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE

Climate Justice is working at the intersections of environmental degradation and the racial, social, and economic inequities it perpetuates.

Every living person depends on the environment. The current system consolidates wealth in the hands of a corporate minority, while threatening the health and security of all people. It is the least privileged and most vulnerable global citizens who are the first to feel the effects of the climate crisis, and who suffer the most damage.

To feed the US growth machine, once agricultural self-reliant economies are decimated, their resources depleted, forcing many to migrate from their home. Some of these “corporate refugees” come to the US looking for a better future for their children. And yet, when the economy tanks, our leaders pave the way  for these migrants to be scapegoated and blamed for “stealing people’s jobs.” Such scapegoating  directed at the most impacted and vulnerable communities, will continue unless we tackle the root causes of climate change, by re-evaluating our current system and challenging leaders who lack the political courage and integrity to do the same.

Worldwide, civilization requires a livable climate. Climate change causes drought, floods, and resource scarcity, leading to famine, civil unrest, armed conflict, innocent suffering and government oppression. As the climate falls apart, families, communities, and lives are falling with it.

Advocacy on behalf of the climate is advocacy on behalf of the billions of people whose lives depend on a healthy planet. The global climate is interconnected, both environmentally and socially. Fixing an interconnected world demands interconnected movement; anyone who believes that all individuals deserve basic human and civil rights should see the climate crisis as an imminent threat.

The climate crisis is an issue that unites us all on a single team, fighting for the future of humankind.