Justice and Equity in the Climate Action Plan

Birth of the Environmental Justice Movement

On this day in 1982, a six-week period of protests began in Warren County, North Carolina. Residents, students, and civil rights activists gathered to protest the state’s decision to locate a hazardous landfill in the 90% impoverished, 66% African American community of Warren County (Lehmann, 2011). The landfill was to hold 31,000 gallons of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are highly toxic manmade chemicals known to cause cancer. The protests involved long distance marches, rallies with singing and praying, and human barricades that blocked access to the proposed landfill site. The protests lasted until October 12th and garnered much attention from the media. Although the toxic landfill was not relocated, the protests and associated news coverage created a national awareness of environmental racism, the disproportionate burden of environmental risks placed on racial minorities.

These images depict the various methods of resistance used by Warren County residents and their allies during the protests.

Image sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


Above is a 1982 WBTV news clip covering a protest at the landfill site.

Video Source

Many attribute the birth of the environmental justice movement to the 1982 Warren County PCB protests.

Climate Equity & the CARP

Climate equity ensures everyone benefits from climate solutions, and no one takes on more of the burden of climate impacts. This requires intentional efforts to change the systems and structures that worsen climate change and inequality (Town of Chapel Hill, 2021, p. 59).

The Town of Chapel Hill recognizes past environmental wrongdoings and has made addressing environmental justice a top priority in the Climate Action and Response Plan. The plan outlines concrete actions that will produce numerous community benefits including improvements in racial equity and environmental justice. Some of these actions are listed below along with their associated climate equity outcomes.

Climate Equity

Climate Action

Net-zero emissions for new construction and new municipal buildings.

+ Improved environmental conditions + Reduced operating and utility costs + More affordable housing opportunities + Prioritization of public housing buildings

Energy upgrades for existing buildings and facilities. Convert community buildings to all electric.

+ Improved environmental conditions + Reduced operating costs + Prioritization of frontline communities in retrofit efforts

Green the grid.

+ Improved environmental conditions +/- Potential changes in energy costs * Advocacy for affordability and equity is needed.

Increase walking, biking, and transit use.

+ Decreased transportation costs + Better connectivity for all transportation modes + More transportation choices available

+ Improved environmental conditions + Improved (fare free) mobility

Increase Transit Ridership and Implement Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

+ Reduced flooding risk from stormwater management

Protect Water Quality, Natural and Agricultural Resources.

References

Lehmann, H. (2011, November 19). North Carolina activists birth the eco-justice movement while fighting toxic waste, 1982. Global Nonviolent Action Database. https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/north-carolina-activists-birth-eco-justice-movement-while-fighting-toxic-waste-1982

Town of Chapel Hill. (2021). Town of Chapel Hill Climate Action and Response Plan. Retrieved from https://www.townofchapelhill.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=48581