LATINO CLIMATE JUSTICE FRAMEWORK

The Latino Climate Justice Framework (LCJF) argues that systemic racism and economic inequity have placed Latino/a/x communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, necessitating targeted policy solutions. It outlines a three-part strategy focusing on energy and economic justice, protecting vulnerable populations from climate disasters, and ensuring equitable representation and access to government services. Key priorities include transitioning to community-based renewable energy, protecting farmworkers from extreme heat, remediating abandoned oil wells, and addressing the unique vulnerabilities of Puerto Rico.

• Latino/a/x communities in the U.S. face significant economic barriers to climate adaptation, with a median family wealth of $36,100 in 2019 compared to $188,200 for white families.
• There is a disparity in clean energy adoption; while low-to-moderate income groups hold over 40 percent of U.S. residential solar potential, low-income households represent only 15 percent of actual adoption.
• Latino/a/x populations are disproportionately exposed to pollution from freight transport, with over 13 million people—predominantly low-income, Black, and Latino/a/x—living near major railyards or marine ports.
• Abandoned oil wells pose a severe risk in states with high Latino/a/x populations; Texas and California have 6,489 and 2,777 orphan wells respectively, and approximately 2.5 million Hispanic or Latino/a/x people live within one mile of a documented orphan well.
• Latino/a/x communities experience a 'nature gap,' being three times more likely than white communities to live in areas lacking natural spaces, which increases vulnerability to urban heat islands.
• Water infrastructure is critically inadequate in Latino/a/x areas; households are twice as likely to lack complete plumbing as white households, and counties with 25 percent or more Latino/a/x populations have contaminated drinking water at twice the national rate.
• Agricultural workers, 77 percent of whom are Hispanic, face escalating risks from extreme heat, with projections that by 2055, half of the 233 U.S. counties with over 500 agricultural workers will reach OSHA's high risk level for heat.
• Puerto Rico faces extreme climate vulnerability, with over 2 million people residing in coastal municipalities prone to sea-level rise and a history of widespread violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
• Language and citizenship status act as barriers to climate policy participation; 13 percent of the U.S. population speaks Spanish at home, yet translation and interpretation are often lacking in government processes.

APA

GreenLatinos (n.d.). LATINO CLIMATE JUSTICE FRAMEWORK. https://www.greenlatinos.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Latino-Climate-Justice-Framework_PRINT-sm.pdf

Chicago

GreenLatinos. LATINO CLIMATE JUSTICE FRAMEWORK. n.d. https://www.greenlatinos.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Latino-Climate-Justice-Framework_PRINT-sm.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenLatinos |title=LATINO CLIMATE JUSTICE FRAMEWORK |url=https://www.greenlatinos.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Latino-Climate-Justice-Framework_PRINT-sm.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenlatinosndlatino, author = {{GreenLatinos}}, title = {{LATINO CLIMATE JUSTICE FRAMEWORK}}, institution = {GreenLatinos}, url = {https://www.greenlatinos.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Latino-Climate-Justice-Framework_PRINT-sm.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }