Climate Change in Vulnerable Communities: U.S. Mitigation Policy and Environmental Justice

By
April 2021
Abstract

Climate change has already damaged environments, ecosystems, and communities around the world, and without bold policy responses, these impacts are projected to intensify throughout the twenty-first century. In the United States, climate change disproportionately harms the nation’s most vulnerable communities: low-income Americans and communities of color who lack the resources to respond to the degradation of their environments, health, communities, and economies. As the U.S. considers policies to mitigate climate change, policymakers must craft solutions to alleviate the inequitable distribution of costs from carbon pollution and incentivize the early retirement of carbon-emitting infrastructure.

ryan-fisher-climate-change-in-vulnerable-communites