Environmental, Climate, and Energy Justice: What Do They Mean?

The document defines environmental justice as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or income in ensuring healthy environments. Climate justice extends these principles to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities and the responsibility of wealthier nations. Energy justice frames access to clean, affordable energy as a human right and advocates for an equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

• Environmental justice is defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as the fair treatment of all people and communities, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, or national origin, to ensure access to healthy environments. The movement emphasizes the need for equitable treatment in natural and built environments and requires the "meaningful involvement of all people in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."
• Climate justice focuses on the disproportionate social, economic, and public health impacts of climate change on low-income communities and BIPOC. It argues that those least responsible for the crisis but most at risk must be centered in decision-making, and that wealthier societies that contributed most to climate change should provide resources to less wealthy ones, such as through a loss and damage fund for developing countries.
• Energy justice is predicated on the idea that access to affordable, safe, and reliable energy is a human right. It seeks to remedy historical inequities, such as the inability to afford essential heating and cooling or a lack of community voice in energy siting and subsidies, while ensuring an equitable transition from fossil fuels to clean power.
• Systemic racism, discrimination, and segregation in the United States have led to marginalized communities facing disproportionate environmental burdens. This includes the siting of sewage treatment plants, power plants, and fossil fuel refineries in BIPOC communities, as well as discriminatory housing practices that pushed these populations into disaster-prone areas.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2025). Environmental, Climate, and Energy Justice: What Do They Mean? https://www.ucs.org/resources/environmental-climate-and-energy-justice-what-do-they-mean

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Environmental, Climate, and Energy Justice: What Do They Mean? 2025. https://www.ucs.org/resources/environmental-climate-and-energy-justice-what-do-they-mean.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Environmental, Climate, and Energy Justice: What Do They Mean? |date=28 January 2025 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/environmental-climate-and-energy-justice-what-do-they-mean |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2025environmental, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Environmental, Climate, and Energy Justice: What Do They Mean?}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/environmental-climate-and-energy-justice-what-do-they-mean}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }