How is Climate Change linked to Social Justice and Equity?

Climate change only works to augment personal and environmental injustices faced by those experiencing social injustice and inequitable access to occupation and resources.

For example, as discussed in the Environmental Racism in St. Louis Report by The Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University School of Law, impacts on black youth include lead poisoning, asthma, mold, air pollution, home energy costs, limited access to healthy food, vacant properties, and illegal trash dumping. Impacts discussed by the St. Louis Report can also be understood as results of climate change.

Reagon (2020) discusses “catastrophic” effects of carbon emissions including loss of habitable spaces and extreme weather conditions. Reagon (2020) also discusses heatwaves, floods, air pollution, extreme weather and refugeeism as succinct examples of occupational disruption; occupational disruption can include loss of career, family, and community roles. Allen et. al. (2018) as cited by Lieb (2020) note that safety and well-being are affected specifically in low and middle-income areas, as a result of rising global temperatures and natural disasters. When allowed to continue, occupational disruption and occupational deprivation, can turn into intergenerational occupational injustice (Drolet et al. 2019 as cited by Lieb, 2020).  

Social justice and equity are key factors impacting quality of life. Climate change needs to be recognized in addition to other personal and environmental factors including ability levels, age, gender identity, origin, religion, sexual orientation, race, and socioeconomic status, as suggested by AOTA (2020b). Climate change affects marginalized communities by causing harm and decreasing access to meaningful occupations.