Climate Change & Disproportional Harm to People of Color

Hello, my name is Leia Patel and I am a student from Glenbrook North.  I’m excited to be presenting a joint RAIN/Go Green DEI Moment, because  climate change and racism are two of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century, and they are strongly intertwined. 

There is a stark divide between those who have caused climate change and those who are experiencing its effects.  People of color in the global south, who suffer most from climate change impacts, have contributed the least to the crisis.  Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color all across the world experience a  larger share of  flooded homes,  vanishing sources of drinking water, destroyed livestock, disrupted local economies, and extreme heat waves, even though their carbon footprint is generally very low.

Here in the United States, Black communities are disproportionately located in areas that are physically vulnerable to climate hazards, such as hurricanes and flooding.  And they are often given unequal levels of protection from the government as compared to protection provided for other groups.  Hurricane Katrina vividly highlighted the legacy of unequal flood protection in New Orleans, where racially biased distribution of government funding resulted in inadequate levee protection for Black neighborhoods.  Over 80% of the homes that were lost belonged to Black people, and Black people made up over half of the total fatalities. 

Racist housing policies can be directly linked to disproportionate exposure to heat events. A recent study found that formerly redlined neighborhoods are an average of 5 degrees hotter in summer compared to areas once favored for housing loans, with some cities seeing differences as large as 12 degrees. Redlined neighborhoods, which remain lower-income and more likely to have Black or Hispanic residents, have far fewer trees and parks that help cool the air, and more paved surfaces, such as asphalt lots or nearby highways, that absorb and radiate heat.  This leads to higher instances of heat related illnesses and death.  Other studies have shown that historically redlined neighborhoods suffer a far higher risk of flooding.  Almost 90% of flood damage insurance payments in Chicago are made to households in communities of color. 

A study of fire risk in the US found that "wildfire vulnerability is spread unequally across race and ethnicity", with majority black, Hispanic or Native American areas facing 50% more vulnerability compared with other groups. Multiple forms of racism are behind that finding, including less money spent on reducing the risk of fire, under-funded emergency services, and lower rates of private insurance.

An EPA analysis released last year concluded that the most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately upon underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, climate disasters. 

Key findings of the report include:

• African Americans are projected to face higher impacts of climate change, compared to all other demographic groups.

For example, African Americans are:

o    34% more likely to live in areas with the highest projected increases in childhood asthma diagnoses, and

o    40% more likely to live in areas with the highest projected increases in extreme temperature related deaths.

• Hispanics and Latinos have high participation in weather-exposed industries, such as construction and agriculture, which are especially vulnerable to the effects of extreme temperatures.

• Hispanics and Latinos are 43% more likely to live in areas with the highest projected reductions in labor hours due to extreme temperatures.

Our country’s history of racist policies and practices, including segregation, unequal educational opportunities, and limited prospects for economic advancement, have led to increased vulnerability of people of color to climate change impacts.  "Without a doubt, racism influences the likelihood of exposure to environmental and health risks," Robert Bullard wrote in his book Confronting Environmental Racism. "Whether by conscious design or institutional neglect, communities of color, in urban [areas], in rural [communities] or on economically impoverished Native-American reservations, face some of the worst environmental devastation in the nation."

Work on climate change is work on racial equity.