Finding Justice in the Low-Carbon Transition

FINDING
JUSTICEIN THE
LOW-CARBON
TRANSITION
S Y M P O S I U M + L U N C H E O N
SPONSORED BY T H E C O M M O N S THROUGH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY STARTER GRANT
W WW . C A R B O N J U S T I C E C O N F E R E N C E . C O M
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#CO2JUSTICE
OVERVIEW & SCHEDULE
How can the low-carbon
transition advance social
justice?
That question guided academics, policy
advocates and activists, professionals,
students, and members of the community
at large who care about the environment
and social justice goals at the community
scale at Finding Justice in the Low-Carbon
Transition Symposium.
Climate change is driving innovation in
policy and technology around two core
imperatives. The first, climate mitigation,
involves curbing greenhouse gas
emissions to avoid catastrophic climate
change. The second, climate adaptation,
anticipates climate impacts and aims to
strengthen the capacity for resilience
in our communities, infrastructure, and
environment. These dual aims intersect at
the local level in the context of distributed
renewable energy, energy efficiency,
and microgrid development – key
components of the low-carbon energy
transition underway in the United States.
The Symposium engaged this intersection
and explored how local energy transitions
can be leveraged to advance local social
justice objectives that prioritize the needs
and rights of traditionally disadvantaged
groups, asking:
•
•
What does social justice look like in
the context of a low-carbon energy
transition?
What avenues exist for effectively
incorporating social justice priorities
into the development of distributed
renewables and climate adaptation
policy?
What legal, political, or structural
obstacles complicate social justice
considerations in this context?
Verchick holds the Gauthier-St. Martin
Chair in Environmental Law at Loyola
University New Orleans. He is also a
Senior Fellow at Tulane University’s
Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy,
and President of the Center for
Progressive Reform. Verchick’s writing
focuses on environmental regulation,
climate change adaptation, and the
developing field of disaster law.
SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE
9:00 - 9:10 WELCOME
Reggie Robinson, University of Knasas
9:10 - 9:30 INTRODUCTION
Uma Outka, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Kansas
9:30 - 10:00 “JUST ENERGY PATHWAYS”
Shalanda Baker, University of Hawai’i
McQueen serves as Director of Education
and Outreach for Green For All. He
launched Green For All’s Fellowship
program, working with seasoned
organizers from all over the country
and the innovative Green The Block
campaign, aimed at bringing sustainability
to urban neighborhoods through culture
and service.
JULIAN MCQUEEN
ROB VERCHICK
10:00 - 10:30 “ENERGY, RESILIENCE, & FAIRNESS”
Rob Verchick, Loyola University New Orleans
COOPERATIVE PROJECT”
Philip Berke, Texas A&M University
11:00 - 11:15 SNACK BREAK
11:15 - 11:45 “FEEDING TWO BIRDS WITH ONE SEED:
HOW WE CAN ADDRESS POVERTY &
CLIMATE CHANGE IN ALL COMMUNITIES”
symposium
Barnett serves as Executive Director of the
Climate + Energy Project, and is leading
the effort to address the Heartland’s
energy future through a common ground
approach. Prior to this position, Barnett
served as Climate + Energy Project’s
Director of Energy and Transmission,
which put her on the ground in energy
policy work at the local, state, and
regional level.
Baker is the Faculty Advisor to the
Environmental Law Program and founding
director of an energy law project at
William S. Richardson School of Law.
Her research explores large energy and
infrastructure project development,
including renewable energy projects;
indigenous rights; and the effect of
development on the environment.
10:30 - 11:00 “THE RESILIENCE & CLIMATE CHANGE
DOROTHY BARNETT
SHALANDA BAKER
Julian McQueen, Green for All
Berke, widely regarded as one of the
nation’s top land use planning scholars,
is a planning professor and Director
of the Institute of Sustainable Coastal
Communities at College Station at Texas
A&M University. He has made major
contributions in natural hazard mitigation,
urban land use planning, growth
management, sustainable development
and environmental planning and policy.
11:45 - 12:15 “UPHOLDING THE BELOVED COMMUNITY:
A VISION FOR A SUSTAINABLE, THRIVING TRANSITION”
Jacqueline Patterson, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program
12:15 - 1:00 BREAKOUT LUNCH: COMPASSIONATE COMMUNITIES
Ward Lyles, University of Kansas
1:00 - 2:00 REGIONAL PANEL
Dorothy Barnett, Climate + Energy Project
•
INVITED SPEAKERS
Althea Moses serves as EPA Region 7’s
Environmental Justice Coordinator and
the Deputy Director of the Enforcement
Coordination Office. Her passion is
helping people. She is a proud Civil
Engineering graduate of Prairie View
A&M University of Texas.
ALTHEA MOSES
PHILIP BERKE
Scott White, Kansas Energy Information Network
Althea Moses, Region 7 Environmental Protection Agency
2:00 - 2:15 SNACK BREAK
2:15 - 3:15 “VISIONING A JUST LOW-CARBON FUTURE”
Invited Speakers Panel
3:15 - 3:30 WRAP UP
Rachel Krause, University of Kansas
White founded The Kansas Energy
Information Network (KEIN) in 2001 with
funds from a state grant. The primary
purpose of KEIN is to be a clearinghouse
for energy information in Kansas and
surrounding states with a focus on energy
efficiency and renewable energy. By
creating an archive of energy news and
various energy projects, KEIN tries to
better inform those persons interested.
Patterson is the Director of the NAACP
Environmental and Climate Justice
Program. Since 2007, Patterson has
served as coordinator and co-founder
of Women of Color United. Patterson
has worked as a researcher, program
manager, coordinator, activist working on
women‘s rights, violence against women,
HIV&AIDS, racial justice, economic justice,
and environmental and climate justice.
JACQUI PATTERSON
SCOTT WHITE
The symposium provided me with the opportunity
to deepen my energy justice network on both
interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary axes, which was a
wonderful surprise and real gift for my scholarship.
- Shalanda Baker
It was one of the best
KU events we’ve attended.
I appreciated being
in a setting with
frontline community
members, advocates,
researchers, and analysts,
which yielded richly
intersectional discourse
on the integrated
approaches needed to
advance a justice based
transition to a low carbon
society and world.
- Jacqui Patterson
- Eric Nelson, KU Waste Reduction Manager
I found the symposium to be timely by offering
thought provoking presentations and discussion
focused on the critical nexus between environmental
justice and climate change…cities are woefully
unprepared for the rising disaster and health risks.
- Philip Berke