Climate change does not land evenly. A 2021 US Environmental Protection Agency report looked at 2 degrees Celsius of global warming. It found that Black Americans are 40% more likely than others to live in areas with the highest projected increases in deaths from extreme heat. Neighborhoods shaped by redlining are often hotter, with more pavement and fewer trees.
Recovery is unequal too. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Black neighborhoods in New Orleans flooded heavily and many residents could not return. Disaster aid has often favored homeowners and wealthier areas, which can widen racial wealth gaps after a storm.
Climate justice grew from the environmental justice movement, which Black and Latino communities built in the 1980s and 1990s against toxic dumping. It asks that the people most affected help lead solutions, that polluting industries stop concentrating in their neighborhoods, and that the shift to clean energy protect workers and communities.