Environmental & Climate Justice

The New School's interdisciplinary approach to climate action can be understood through the frames of environmental and climate justice. The climate crisis can be understood as a social justice crisis as it poses an outsized risk to some of the world's most vulnerable populations. We see climate justice as a pathway through which communities play an active role in addressing climate and environmental injustices. As an institution, we will support those communities through action and research.

Environmental Justice

Environmental justice is a global social movement that works toward “the fair treatment of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies,” as defined by the EPA. There is overwhelming evidence that through conscious design and institutional neglect, communities of color, particularly Black, Latinx(o), and indigenous communities, experience a disproportionate level of exposure to toxins, pesticides, and air pollution, which leads to increased rates of health problems like cancer, heart disease, and asthma. The unjust exposure of people of color to environmental hazards and environmental health burdens is called environmental racism. Environmental justice practitioners work to combat inequities in order to protect and empower our most vulnerable populations.

As Robert Bullard, the father of the environmental justice movement, said, “The new challenges that we face today include climate change, especially as it impacts the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. As new climate policy is implemented, we have to make sure that equity and justice are brought to bear, because the communities that are hit worst, first, longest, and hardest in terms of climate change are the same communities that are also hit hardest, worst, and longest by other environmental problems, such as air quality, hazardous waste, pollution, and lead poisoning.”

That is why here at The New School, we work to educate and take action in our community to protect vulnerable populations and take steps toward environmental justice.

Access the environmental justice principles.

Climate Justice

Climate justice emphasizes the need for community-led solutions in the urgent cause of slowing down climate change. Climate justice is a subset of the environmental justice movement that places more emphasis on the impact of climate change, specifically on the health and livelihoods of marginalized and vulnerable communities across the globe.

Learn more about climate justice on the Climate Justice Alliance site.