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Publication

Climate change, health, and discrimination: action towards racial justice

Abstract

The health impacts of climate change will affect everyone. But the consequences are unevenly distributed, falling much harder on some communities than others. Although discourse on climate change and health acknowledges principles of equity, little attention is given to underlying structural discrimination and the need for racial justice. From vulnerable communities in Puerto Rico coping with the effects of hurricane Fiona, to excessive heat in racially segregated neighbourhoods in the USA, to the tens of millions of people who have been displaced by flooding in Pakistan during 2022, minoritised populations bear the brunt of the health impacts of climate change, despite being least responsible for it. Racism kills, and climate change kills. 

Together, racism and climate change interact and have disproportionate effects on the lives of minoritised people within countries and between the Global North and the Global South. 

More information

Type
Journal Article
Author
Deivanayagam TA
Selvarajah S
Hickel J
Guinto RR
de Morais Sato P
Bonifacio J
English S
Huq M
Issa R
Mulindwa H
Nagginda HP
Sharma C
Devakumar D