Written by Kieran Hadley
In the wake of a worldwide uprising against police brutality and systemic racism following the death of George Floyd, public discourse has increased around the intersectionality of racial injustice with other pressing issues. One such intersection happens with climate change, which has been shown in the United States of America to disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities.
For most people, the climate movement evokes images of shrinking ice caps and heatwaves, and consequently, it is hard to make the connection between these remote events and the direct impact those events have on our own lives. While the worsening of the climate crisis is likely to have dire implications for the world as a whole in terms of food shortages, rising sea levels, and air pollution, none will be more affected than black and brown people, as well as those with lower socioeconomic status.
Climate change, on the whole, and in the same way as the current pandemic, magnifies global inequality in the sense that those who have the resources to relocate or adapt to the difficulties presented by climate change will do so, while those lacking resources will be left exposed to the consequences of global warming.
There are several ways in which this inequality manifests itself along racial lines. In the U.S, race is the primary indicator (more so than poverty) of the placement of point-source pollution sites like factories and coal-fired power plants, resulting in disproportionately poor air quality in Black communities.
Global warming further exacerbates this issue by trapping pollutants near the ground in hotter temperatures, resulting in a higher prevalence of asthma, heart disease, and other health issues. A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that although Black and Hispanic communities emit lower levels of greenhouse gasses on average, they are exposed to worse air pollution, while white communities contribute more to air pollution and emit more carbon, but are less likely to experience unhealthy air quality.
Additionally, as climate change worsens natural disasters such as hurricanes, it is often communities made up of racial minorities who are the most vulnerable and least equipped. For example, an analysis of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina found that although Black people made up only 32% of Louisiana’s population in 2005, they represented over half of Katrina’s fatalities, and over 80% of the housing loss caused by the storm occurred in these communities. While several factors play into this disparity, of note are the unequal allocation of funds and resources related to durable infrastructure in these communities, as well as the prioritization of more affluent communities in emergency response efforts.
As efforts continue to address climate change worldwide, its visceral relationship to racial inequality cannot be overlooked. Addressing bias in cultural awareness and social responses, as well as specifics related to income, housing, and the siting of harmful sources of pollution are necessary steps in the pursuit of softening the effects of climate change on those most vulnerable to its impact.
Kieran Hadley is a writer and photographer based out of the Rocky Mountain West. His interests focus mainly on international and environmental topics as well as conservation and outdoor recreation.