What the Supreme Court Decision on Affirmative Action Means for Climate Equity Policy

Climate justice is racial justice. There is no way to talk about equitable, effective, and just solutions to climate change without also talking about the disproportionate burdens that communities of color shoulder as the planet warms. <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/systematic-inequality-american-democracy/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">The legacies of systemic racism and discrimination</a> mean that today, communities of color are more likely to live in polluted, climate-vulnerable neighborhoods with limited capacity and resources to build resilience or bounce back after a climate disaster. The inextricable link between race and climate vulnerability demands race-conscious policies to mitigate climate effects for these communities. But the Supreme Court’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1181138066/affirmative-action-supreme-court-decision" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">recent decision to ban affirmative action</a> in college admissions could derail progress in our collective fight to slow climate change and address the long legacy of racial injustice in this country. <a href="https://medium.com/island-press/what-the-supreme-court-decision-on-affirmative-action-means-for-climate-equity-policy-2bf47f1980ab">Website</a>