Climate Justice

Climate Justice

Climate injustice = those who contribute least to climate change are the ones who are left most exposed to climate hazards and effects and have fewest resources to adapt. This is often caused by systemic injustices in society, or structural conditions that have marginalized communities of color, Indigenous people, people living in poverty, and other persons without equal access to rights.

Climate justice entails (1) recognition of persistent social and racial stratification, (2) ensuring broader capabilities of marginalized groups, and (3) preventing new harm and trauma.Our approach recognizes that justice communities are resilient and have the right for self-determination and thriving.

To address the disproportionate impacts of climate stressors on under-represented populations and to ensure their voices are incorporated into community decision-making (e.g., questions of distributional, contextual, and procedural equity), SCIPP will investigate spatial patterns of vulnerability to climate stressors, social injustice, and disaster recovery disparities in the South Central region by building partnerships with community-based organizations for sustained research collaborations. SCIPP will also assess how climate justice communities are recognized and included in climate planning, to then implement and evaluate community-based research in case-study communities.

Developing Community Resources for Equitable Climate Resilience

Investigator(s): Simone Domingue, Caylah Cruickshank, Lauren Mullenbach
Research Dates: 2021
Affiliate Organization(s): University of Oklahoma • Louisiana Disaster Justice Network

This project involves working with Louisiana’s Disaster Justice Network to create community resources for:

  • Navigating disaster assistance programs.
  • Monitoring racial equity in housing and small business recovery programs.
  • Tracking updates on the Biden Administration’s Justice 40 Initiative and monitoring for transparency.
  • Surveying the intersection of climate hazards with industrial hazards and pollution.

Climate Adaptation and Capacity-Building in Climate Justice Communities

Investigator(s): Lauren Mullenbach, Simone Domingue, Olivia VanBuskirk, Mark Shafer, Caylah Cruickshank, Barry Keim, Renee McPherson, Randy Peppler, Darrian Bertrand, Anthony Levenda
In Progress
Research Dates: 2021
Affiliate Organization(s): University of Oklahoma • Louisiana State University

The research objectives of this project include:

  • Assess how cities in the SCIPP region are including equity and justice within their climate adaptation planning.
  • Understand how marginalized groups experience climate change impacts, and the extent that these experiences reflect the ways cities conceptualize climate adaptation.
  • Develop ways to improve climate adaptation planning to advance equity and justice.

This project will assess what climate adaptation activities are already happening and how communities are integrated in these planning activities (or how they could be). We will work with community partners to create resources for community planning and monitoring of federal resources and opportunities and engage with communities to co-produce knowledge on climate risk, vulnerability, and injustice.

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