You hear a lot about environmental equity and environmental justice, but what’s the difference and what are some of the concrete ways climate advocates are working to achieve both?

Low-income residents and people of color often live in “frontline communities” when it comes to climate change and environmental hazards. These communities are more likely to bear the brunt of extreme heat, air pollution and poor water quality than more affluent residents and communities that have weather-mitigating  household amenities and better local environmental protection and oversight. 

Environmental equity intends to ensure that everyone — regardless of income, race or native language —  is protected from unsafe environmental risks and has access to basic amenities for health and safety. In addition, environmental equity seeks to make sure low-income residents can afford basic services such as electricity and have access to green transportation as our economy shifts to clean energy technologies. 

Environmental justice describes the movement or fight to achieve environmental equity for all. 

“Environmental benefits” refers to the ways a healthy environment contributes to a better quality of life for people and includes access to clean air and drinking water, reduced noise pollution, access to community parks, and other positive impacts that help reduce stress and lead to better health outcomes and longer life expectancy.

Here are a few ways environmental issues may impact communities differently:

Climate Change

As temperatures rise due to global warming, low-income communities are often at greater risk for climate impacts like extreme heat or flooding. For example, urban-area homes, neighborhoods and schools may have less shade or lack air conditioning that puts the elderly, homeless and children at risk of heat stroke. Other neighborhoods may be more at-risk of seasonal flooding. 

When it comes to climate action, you may also hear about “climate mitigation or “resiliency building,” which are efforts to prepare at-risk communities to withstand extreme weather due to climate change. An example would be building more shade structures at a local school to protect students from the heat or using more heat-resilient building materials when building housing. 

Air & Water Quality

Low-income residents and disadvantaged communities often have an increased risk of being exposed to air pollution, whether it’s from living or working near an industrial area or transportation zones, or in areas where there may be air pollution from dust due to agricultural land use and wildfire smoke. Climate warming increases the amount of dust in the air due to soil degradation and heightens the risk of wildfires by making forests and vegetation more dry and flammable. 

Low-income residents may also lack access to safe drinking water because they live, work and go to school in older buildings with outdated water infrastructure that contaminates water sources, or where adequate water safeguards are not in place. Disadvantaged communities are often closer to businesses, factories and manufacturers that may emit more air pollutants or contaminate local waterways. 

Environmental risks can also have a cumulative impact in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Children in low-income communities may be exposed to air pollution on the diesel school bus on the way to school and water contamination in the pipes supplying the drinking fountains at school. Examples of ways to achieve more environmental equity would be to swap diesel school buses for zero-emissions buses to protect children’s respiratory health and to install new pipes or wells to make sure school drinking water is safe.

Energy & Transportation

As communities transition to clean energy technology, a concern is that the transition may be financially out of reach for many low-income residents. Higher electricity and utility rates or the price of an electric vehicle may make switching from fossil fuels infeasible for some residents  unless there is adequate green investment in their neighborhoods or government programs provide financial support and incentives during the transition. For example, while more affluent residents may be able to have an electric charging station for their EV at home, residents in apartment buildings or renters may not have such convenient access to charging stations. Accordingly, programs that provide financial incentives to landlords to install sufficient charging stations would be one way to help advance environmental equity.

As climate impacts increase, the objective of environmental equity is to prepare and protect the most vulnerable communities so that someone’s zip code or income level does not increase the risks to their health, safety and security. Advocating for environmental justice is the fastest way to get there.