climate justice
The climate emergency is evident everywhere. Ecosystems, communities and individuals are already suffering from heat waves, wildfires, biodiversity loss, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, food, and water shortages. Climate change and inequality are intimately linked to the same systems of ecological and human exploitation. There is widespread recognition that low income and communities of color are on the frontlines of climate impacts. Across the country, environmental justice organizations are leading critical campaigns and initiatives to address this by protecting public health, advancing stronger climate policies, and building new economies rooted in Just Transition principles. Despite this recognition, national and international climate mitigation policies often ignore social justice and equity implications, pushing justice objectives to the margins or treating them as a footnote for future consideration.
The Tishman Center deeply understands the urgency we face from the climate crisis and works though both campus engagement initiatives and external partnerships with environmental and climate justice grassroots organizations by:
1. Mobilizing students, staff, faculty and our broader community to take action on the root causes of the climate crisis and concomitant environmental injustices. The Center leads efforts on an inclusive climate emergency action plan; creating opportunities for staff, students, faculty and our larger community to act on environmental justice and climate change; shares best practices; and experiments with programming and practices that invite innovation, transdisciplinarity, design thinking and solidarity with frontline communities.
2. Serving as a resource center and hub for climate and environmental justice research, interdisciplinary practice and movement building. The Tishman Center offers support in the form of a movement building program, interdisciplinary research and practice, as well as design and policy expertise. The Center works with a wide range of groups including community-based and grassroots organizations, environmental and climate justice coalitions and networks, advocates and policymakers. Our work is guided by the Jemez Principles with an emphasis on critical, participatory research and the co-production of inclusive, bottom-up approaches that amplify the knowledge of frontline and environmental justice communities.
Dr. Ana Baptista, Director of the Tishman Center, is a platform co-author and The Tishman Center is an inaugural signatory of the Equitable and Just Climate Platform.