Sunday, May 31, 2009

‘Climate justice’ a hot new policy area

David Beers in 'the Hook,' part of the Tyee (Canada): The poorest among us will be most hurt by global warming unless politicians take action to protect the most vulnerable. Call it “climate justice”, “climate fairness” or “closing the climate gap”, this is the hot new political zone where social justice policies intersect with climate change science.

Taking the lead in B.C. is the Climate Justice Project, a multi-year research effort spearheaded by the Vancouver office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. A new U.S. report explores similar ground. “The Climate Gap: Inequalities in How Climate Change Hurts Americans & How to Close the Gap,” published by a team from University of Southern California, University of California at Berkeley, and Occidental College in Los Angeles, zeroes in on the “often hidden and unequal harm climate change will cause people of color and the poor in the United States.”… [T]o summarize policies to close the climate gap recommended in the report:
  • Adopting technologies that identify neighborhoods most vulnerable to the Climate Gap
  • Choosing either an auction or fee-based system that would generate revenue to help families living in poverty absorb the higher costs of water, food and energy
  • …Prioritizing the training of people who are most likely to lose their current job because of either climate change or climate solutions for jobs in the new economy
  • Focusing outreach, intervention, and preparedness efforts for extreme weather events in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color
The Watts Towers in Watts, in Los Angeles, built by Sam (or "Simon") Rodia, shot by BenFrantzDale, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2. The Towers appear in Don DeLillo's Underworld and the computer game, Grand Theft Auto, among many other place

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