Environmental Justice

This one-pager provides some examples of environmental justice and cumulative impacts legislation from across the country.

This issue brief provides an overview of environmental justice, key facts and terms for understanding the trends of environmental injustice, as well applicable strategies for implementing environmental justice strategies.

Strong State-Tribal relationships can advance state policy with thousands of years of ongoing Indigenous ecological knowledge and research. State and Tribal collaborations can offer mutual benefits across reduced legal conflict, identifying redundancies, and increased federal funding. While states have no authority over Tribal nations unless granted by Congress, all states have treaty obligations to Tribal nations, whose Tribal sovereignty exceeds state sovereignty. The relationship between Tribal nations, states, and the federal government is complicated, but recognizing Tribal sovereignty can help states avoid costly mistakes.

Climate change impacts everyone. But because human societies were built on inequities, climate change does not impact everyone in the same way. For example, low-income communities have fewer resources to recover from climate disasters. In the United States, communities of color bear the brunt of pollution associated with fossil fuels and energy infrastructure. Worldwide, climate change has a disproportionate impact on women and children. Because climate change amplifies existing injustices and inequities, policies to address climate change should be designed to mitigate inequities and disproportionate impacts. Both in the U.S. and worldwide, individuals and communities that contributed the least to the climate crisis will face the greatest impacts. To advance climate justice, state legislation needs to identify and center environmental justice communities, build an inclusive economy, support community-driven solutions, require local pollution reductions, and facilitate a just transition.

Both in the U.S. and worldwide, individuals and communities that contributed the least to the climate crisis will face the greatest impacts. Because climate change amplifies existing injustices and inequities, policies to address climate change should be designed to mitigate inequities and disproportionate impacts. To advance climate justice, state legislation needs to identify and center environmental justice communities, build an inclusive economy, support community-driven solutions, require local pollution reductions, and facilitate a just transition.