Plan

Providence, RI Climate Justice Plan

Summary

We have known for generations that the way our dominant culture lives is out of alignment with nature. Our air is polluted, and our land is poisoned. The causes for our concerns are many and varied but are all rooted in an extractive relationship to the earth and its vital resources. We, the Racial & Environmental Justice Committee (REJC) put forward these Climate Justice Policies in an effort to remedy our relationship to the land, air, and water.

Year

2024

Details

Hazards Addressed

Air Quality

Water Quality

Assets

Natural Areas and Wildlife

People

View the Plan

Equity Insights

Despite being one of the three pillars of sustainability, equity is often an afterthought when it comes to climate action planning. In creating this plan, we chose to lead with equity and partnered with those who are most impacted by the climate crisis and other environmental injustices. Frontline community members were the primary decision-makers in the process, which helped shift power to those who have been historically marginalized.

Lessons Learned

When the most impacted are centered in a decision-making process, the resulting interventions and solutions are transformative. This plan, which was co-created by the Office of Sustainability and the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee (REJC), tackles climate change by addressing the root causes: structural racism, economic inequality, and our extractive economy. This plan takes a systems-thinking and place-based approach to addressing climate change. Albeit daunting, this adds a layer of complexity that is critical to acknowledge and understand if we are to begin to solve the problem. The urgency of our social and environmental challenges require that we no longer work in silos.