Environmental Racism and Climate Change

The document argues that climate change adaptation policies in Canada often ignore that risks are socially created and inequitably distributed. It uses case studies from Nova Scotia to demonstrate how structural determinants—such as poverty, systemic racism, and lack of education—combine with environmental racism to make racialized communities more sensitive to and more exposed to climate hazards. The author highlights specific instances of environmental racism, including toxic waste sites and industrial pollution in Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities, and calls for race-based data collection and health equity impact assessments to build climate resilience.

• Climate change adaptation policies in Canada frequently fail to account for the fact that climate impacts are inequitable and that most risks are generated by societal structures rather than the physical environment.
• Structural determinants of health—including poverty, education, and systemic racism—increase the sensitivity of racialized communities to climate change. For example, in Nova Scotia, poverty rates in African Nova Scotian communities like East Preston (38.9%) and North Preston (40%) are high, and the 2006 unemployment rate for Mi’kmaw people on reserve was 24.6%, compared to 9.1% for all Nova Scotians.
• Environmental racism leads to the disproportionate placement of polluting industries and hazards in marginalized communities. In Nova Scotia, this is evidenced by the proximity of waste incinerators, dumps, and pulp and paper mills to Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian communities.
• Specific Mi’kmaw communities have faced severe health risks due to industrial pollution: the Sydney Tar Ponds site was linked to a local cancer rate 45% higher than the Nova Scotia average, and Boat Harbour near Pictou Landing First Nation has the third-highest cancer rates per capita of all health districts in Canada.
• African Nova Scotian communities have been historically subjected to environmental racism, exemplified by Africville, where the city of Halifax provided no basic utilities while zoning the area for industrial use and open-pit dumps, and Lincolnville, where residents report increasing rates of cancer and diabetes since a landfill was opened in 1974.
• To achieve health equity and climate resilience, the author recommends that health and environment departments collect disaggregated race-based data, increase Indigenous and Black representation in decision-making, pass environmental justice legislation, and implement health equity impact assessments in environmental approval processes.

APA

Waldron, I. R. G. (2021). Environmental Racism and Climate Change. Canadian Climate Institute. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/environmental-racism-and-climate-change/

Chicago

Waldron, I. R. G. Environmental Racism and Climate Change. Canadian Climate Institute, 2021. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/environmental-racism-and-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Waldron |first1=I. R. G. |title=Environmental Racism and Climate Change |publisher=Canadian Climate Institute |date=22 July 2021 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/environmental-racism-and-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{waldron2021environmental, author = {Waldron, I. R. G.}, title = {{Environmental Racism and Climate Change}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/environmental-racism-and-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }