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The climate crisis is a justice crisis

We have a moral obligation to act.

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It’s no secret that the climate crisis is a justice crisis.

The fact is, climate change will make poor people poorer and more people poor. Just as bad, the dirty fossil fuels driving climate change are poisoning the air and water so many low-income families and communities of color breathe and drink every day.

And this will get even worse as President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency has been working with fossil fuel companies to relax the regulations that protect the air we breathe and the planet we share.

Last month, EPA announced it would not enforce pollution regulations for fossil fuel plants and other facilities indefinitely, effectively giving polluters a free pass. And last month, EPA and the National Highway Transit Safety Administration finalized their rollback of the fuel efficiency standards supported by the majority of Americans.

We know what comes next. Higher levels of air pollution, which experts warn could increase COVID-19 deaths. More global warming pollution accelerating climate change. All felt first and worst by frontline communities already hit hard by the climate crisis.

This is injustice pure and simple – and we have a moral obligation to act.

It starts with listening to the communities already living with fossil fuel pollution and the families hit first and worst by climate change. By understanding what the crisis means for them, we can work together for truly just and equitable solutions.

Because the only way to solve the climate crisis is by working together. And to build a winning coalition, we needed to understand how this crisis intersects with other social inequities such as racial discrimination, poverty, and environmental injustice.

Over the past two years, our founder and chairman, former US Vice President Al Gore, and Bishop William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, have led several environmental justice tours throughout the Southeastern United States, focusing on the intersection of ecological devastation, poverty, and race.

This June, together we will demonstrate the power of poor and impacted people to be agents of change at the very heart of this democracy. Join us for the digital Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 20, 2020.

JOIN US FOR THE FIGHT AHEAD

We’re proud to be a mobilizing partner for this event and hope you will join us. Sign up to be part of the campaign.