Make your climate dollar go further

Making Positive Change with Climate Investments

Decarbonization and boosting climate resiliency help cities lessen the impact of climate change.?

But they can do much more than that. They provide equitable economic opportunity and disrupt the status quo.?

Climate change is going to exacerbate existing systemic issues and hit disadvantaged communities the hardest. That’s why we are making climate investments a focus of our October 18 event CityAge Atlanta: Heart of the New Climate Economy.?

Want to see this in practice? Consider the Sunnyside Energy Project, which features a massive urban solar farm that will be built on a 240-acre former landfill site in Houston’s historically Black and underserved Sunnyside neighborhood. The landfill devastated the health of that community for decades. This project may not reverse that but it will provide opportunities for the people who live there through jobs in a growing industry and lower utility costs, all while helping Houston decarbonize.

Green infrastructure is another solid way to address inequity and help cities adapt to climate change.

For instance, the tree canopy in lower-income areas is often less robust. Cities like Philadelphia are proactively addressing that by planting trees in those neighborhoods. This will keep these places cool and improve air quality — both of which will save lives — and also lower the energy burden (and demand).

Curious how the latter will work? Check out the research done by Cameron Yap, a data analyst with Neighborhood Data For Social Change, who found that people who live in areas in LA County with less tree cover spend more of their household income on energy costs.?

Making these changes isn’t just the right thing to do for people who live in these areas, it’ll help all of us.?

To learn more about how an equity approach is mutually beneficial, we recommend The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee.