Environmental justice should be central to our work to advance climate solutions every day

A statement by EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette arguing that environmental justice must be a core value in climate solutions to ensure a fair transition to a clean energy economy, illustrated by community-led efforts in Virginia, Michigan, and Louisiana.

• Federal judges rejected a permit for a national gas pumping station in Union Hill, Virginia, ruling that the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board failed to properly consider the disproportionate impact on the historic African-American community.
• Low-income and minority communities across the United States experience disproportionate negative environmental impacts, including higher proximity to fossil fuel facilities and hazardous waste sites, as well as reduced tree cover in urban areas.
• In Detroit, Michigan, the Green Door Initiative addresses the legacy of industrial pollution—where the government designated the entire city as a brownfield site—by training and employing local residents to clean up toxins in their own communities.
• The Louisiana Strategic Adaptations for Future Environments (LA SAFE) program is cited as a positive model for community-centered resilience in coastal Louisiana because it maintained a consistent presence on the ground and involved residents in debating and highlighting their own issues regarding coastal land loss.

APA

Bresette, D. (2020). Environmental justice should be central to our work to advance climate solutions every day. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/environmental-justice-should-be-central-to-our-work-to-advance-climate-solutions-every-day

Chicago

Bresette, Daniel. Environmental justice should be central to our work to advance climate solutions every day. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2020. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/environmental-justice-should-be-central-to-our-work-to-advance-climate-solutions-every-day.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bresette |first1=Daniel |title=Environmental justice should be central to our work to advance climate solutions every day |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=17 January 2020 |url=https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/environmental-justice-should-be-central-to-our-work-to-advance-climate-solutions-every-day |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bresette2020environmental, author = {Bresette, Daniel}, title = {{Environmental justice should be central to our work to advance climate solutions every day}}, publisher = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/environmental-justice-should-be-central-to-our-work-to-advance-climate-solutions-every-day}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }