Climate impacts us wherever we live, work, study, and play in Washington State. The compounding impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic further reveal that the systems we have created to deal with daunting challenges related to health, the economy, and justice are neither sustainable nor equitable. The measure of health impacts and available remedies during the COVID-19 crisis follow a similar pattern to climate and environmental injustices. How you’re impacted is a factor of both 1) exposure, whether to the virus or the economic fallout, and 2) pre-existing vulnerabilities like healthcare access, existing health conditions, race and language discrimination, and lack of employment or savings. These conditions are the result of historic and persistent institutional racism and systemic inequity.
Front and Centered has been organizing for this moment. Our Principles for Environmental and Climate Justice provide guideposts for how we do our work. Racial and economic analysis, such as the Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map, should drive decisions. We follow the leadership, knowledge, and expertise of communities disproportionately impacted. We pursue targeted strategies for communities of color and Indigenous people that create net environmental and economic outcomes for everyone. And we have our eyes set not just on piecemeal change, but a truly Just Transition. Our new report, Accelerating a Just Transition in Washington State: Climate Justice Strategies from the Frontlines, is intended to guide the Front and Centered coalition and our allies as we consider where to focus our work.
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