Advocates say climate policy must focus on Black and brown communities
Because climate change harms communities of color, the League of Conservation Voters says it has broadened its legislative agenda
By TAYLOR JUNG NJ Spotlight
As the climate crisis continues, more and more research demonstrates that Black and brown communities across the country and in New Jersey are bearing the burden of its disastrous effects — more flooding, increased air pollution, and higher instances of health issues.
And if the devastation that Hoboken, Jersey City, and Elizabeth residents experienced from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida was any indication, the worst is yet to come.
Because of that disproportionate impact, the League of Conservation Voters took a new approach this year when it came to making public its legislative agenda.
The group put nonwhite and low-income New Jerseyans at the center of its policy recommendations and worked alongside 25 organizations like the Latino Action Network and the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP. On Wednesday, the league released its legislative agenda, designed to build climate resilience for New Jersey, while mitigating climate change damage for Black and brown communities and stimulating the economy. The group creates a blueprint for its legislative priorities every two years, and one for the governor every four.
“Systemic racism is very real, and it’s in our environmental policies,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the League of Conservation Voters.
“And (helping low-income families and communities of color) means being antiracist and looking at everything that we’re doing to make sure that it makes the conditions better … for communities of color, for families and businesses living and working in New Jersey,” he added.
The league is taking a more aggressive approach with its legislative priorities, calling for 100% clean electricity by 2035. It previously said this should be achieved by 2050 when the group revealed its policy recommendations for the governor four years ago. But the organization says that the need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and switch to cleaner energy is urgent because Black and brown New Jerseyans are living the realities of climate change and that the state must focus on these “overburdened communities.” State law defines these communities as census block groups with residents who are low-income or nonwhite or have limited proficiency in English.
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