Environmental Justice, Climate Justice, and Energy Justice—What Do They Mean?

A few examples:

• Land use for extraction and consumption of natural resources has historically displaced communities.
• Decisions by companies and governments to site fossil fuel refineries, power plants, and sewage treatment plants in BIPOC communities have exposed people to polluted air, water, and soil, jeopardizing their health and reducing their life expectancy.
• Discriminatory housing practices and forced migration relegated BIPOC and low-income communities to disaster-prone areas vulnerable to extreme weather-related events like flooding and storms, now made worse by climate change. Such disasters tend to harm these communities first and worst.

As growing numbers of people and institutions work to build resilience to climate change and slow its pace, it’s important to not repeat and reinforce racist and discriminatory systems and policies—especially as we prioritize solutions including a just transition to clean energy.

Justice means addressing past and current wrongs. All efforts to live with, adapt to, and prepare for the changing climate must center environmental justice, climate justice, and energy justice.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as:

The environmental justice movement, which began in 1982 with protests in Warren County, North Carolina, against toxic waste dumping, emphasizes the urgent need for equitable treatment in natural and built environments. It demands that everyone, regardless of background, must have the opportunity to live in safe, clean, and nurturing spaces that promote health and well-being. This includes fair access to public infrastructure like clean water, transportation, and energy systems, as well as to essential resources that directly impact people's ability to thrive.

Environmental justice advocates stress that environmental justice requires the meaningful involvement of all people in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. This means that marginalized communities must have a voice in how their surroundings are shaped, from housing developments to public spaces.

Climate justice builds on the principles of environmental justice with a primary focus on how the social, economic, public health, and other impacts of climate change are felt more severely by BIPOC and low-income communities.

Simply put: climate justice emphasizes ensuring that the benefits of building climate resilience are distributed fairly, while striving to address and mitigate the disproportionate burdens of climate change impacts on vulnerable communities.

It also means that the people who are both most at risk of climate impacts and least responsible for contributing to the crisis must be centered in decision-making around solutions.

Climate justice calls upon wealthier countries and societies that have contributed the most to climate change to take accountability and provide resources to less wealthy countries and people.

A clear example of a climate justice action is establishing a loss and damage fund, designed to support developing countries, which through no fault of their own are particularly vulnerable to losses arising from droughts, floods, rising seas, and other disasters attributed to or made worse by climate change.

Energy justice is based on the premise that access to clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy is a human right. It aims to make sure everyone has a fair chance to be part of the energy system, both in how they’re included and in how costs or benefits are shared.

• Historically, our energy system and the people and institutions that govern it have perpetuated inequities resulting in:
• The inability for people to afford electricity for essential systems like heating and air conditioning, which are critical to staying safe during heat waves or cold snaps.
• A lack of access to decision-making around energy in communities—e.g., where a power station is sited, or whether to subsidize unprofitable coal-fired power plants
• A lack of access to energy itself

The UCS Electric Utility Toolkit provides more examples of energy injustices, and ways to remedy them.

People who advocate for energy justice seek to ensure an equitable transition to clean power and away from burning fossil fuels, the main driver of heat-trapping and other polluting emissions.

Energy justice demands:

• Fair participation in decisionmaking
• Improved public health
• Addressing historical and current social and economic disadvantages faced by BIPOC and low-income communities
• Repairing the harms caused in communities on the frontlines of pollution and climate change.

Achieving energy justice begins with centering marginalized communities.

It’s important to recognize that the terms “equity” and “justice” have different interpretations across the environmental and social movement. While various frameworks offer unique perspectives, they all share a common goal: tackling the deep-rooted inequities in our systems. Want more? Dive into the applications of climate, environmental, and energy justice.