Understanding Different Applications of Climate Justice, Energy Justice, and Environmental Justice

Distributive justice ensures equitable outcomes in the distribution of benefits (affordable energy, allocation of resources, remediation of harms, incentives) and disadvantages (energy burdens, health hazards, degradation of the environment).

Building Community Resilience highlights the experiences of frontline communities, emphasizing critical dimensions of climate and energy justice. Puerto Rico has faced multiple natural disasters, including Category 5 hurricanes and significant earthquakes, the impacts of which have been compounded by a pandemic and economic recession. Tania Rosario Méndez, executive director of Taller Salud in Puerto Rico, notes that while FEMA's mission is to assist communities in crisis, its bureaucratic processes often fail to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, leading to delays and inadequate support. The allocation of resources during times of need is a fundamental aspect of distributive justice.

Additionally, Méndez explains that electricity generation is concentrated in the south, where communities face significant pollution, while the northern part of the island—where electricity demand is higher—suffers from inadequate access. When the power grid fails, these northern communities, often referred to as "pocket communities," are left isolated and neglected. This situation underscores the need for decentralized solutions that effectively address the unique needs of different areas, ensuring a fair distribution of resources and services across all communities, thereby exemplifying distributive justice.

Procedural justice ensures the process and decision-making regarding the distribution of those benefits and disadvantages is equitable.

Another Building Community Resilience collaborator, Lanor Curole of the United Houma Nation, shared how traditional cost-benefit analyses can undermine community priorities by failing to capture the true value of homes and cultural heritage. She emphasizes the need for meaningful partnerships based on trust, where Indigenous and frontline communities actively shape policies that affect them. For the Houma people, the impacts of climate change, such as land loss from sea level rise and hurricanes, are especially severe. But their proactive, community-centered response to disasters demonstrates community resilience rooted in traditional practices. Cultural heritage and traditional practices, often overlooked, are crucial for developing effective climate adaptation strategies, offering insights into the importance of procedural justice.

However, the root causes of challenges like sea level rise can be traced back to problematic decisions in the electricity sector, where—for example—the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and other Regional Transmission Operators (RTO) are heavily influenced by industry, sidelining impacted communities in grid infrastructure decisions, as explained in our Equitable Grid Principles report. Though meant to provide oversight, state regulatory bodies are also swayed by corporate interests, leaving little room to challenge RTO decisions. Procedural justice means ensuring accessibility in grid decision-making, which requires plain language, transparent information, and meaningful public participation, supported by funding for communities to engage.

Restorative justice embraces diverse knowledge systems, community-based resolutions and explores novel methods to hold those responsible for harm accountable in ways that are meaningful both to the affected communities and to the natural world.

The intersection of climate, energy, and restorative justice focuses on addressing harm, building resilience, and ensuring accountability in affected communities. In Florence, South Carolina, efforts led by Rev. Leo Woodberry and his organization, New Alpha Community Development Corporation, include community-driven projects like a resilience center, horticulture education, flood protection through wetlands restoration, and sustainable water solutions powered by solar energy. These initiatives also include broader community benefits like workforce training and energy efficiency upgrades. Similarly, in Port Arthur, Texas, programs guided by Hilton Kelley’s organization, Community In-Power and Development Association Inc., monitor air quality and advocates for legislative change to hold polluting industries accountable while providing education and services to the community.

Restorative justice in this context emphasizes addressing systemic factors that perpetuate harm while ensuring affected communities have access to the resources and opportunities needed to restore their well-being and resilience. This involves incorporating policy models that integrate environmental justice principles, Indigenous knowledge systems, and diverse perspectives into energy planning and policy development.

It’s important to recognize that while these concepts can function independently, they are also deeply intertwined. Understanding these connections can reveal the systemic shifts needed to avoid repeating the harms of the past—especially amid today’s climate crisis—and instead build a more resilient and equitable future and foster collective growth and evolution. Achieving justice requires us to examine the systems in which we live and continually correct harmful policies and practices.

The justice framework is pivotal to achieving a just transition—a future where everyone belongs, and our shared progress leads to resilience and equity for all.