NAACP

The NAACP originally created the Center for Environmental & Climate Justice based on the recognition that more than 65% of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal plant, and that low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change. (Substrategy: U.S. National Policy)

Recognizing that more than 65 percent of African Americans live within thirty miles of a coal plant, and that low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change, the NAACP created the Environmental and Climate Justice Program in 2010. The aims of the program are to reduce harmful pollutants that harm community health and advance climate change, as well as to promote public awareness of and engagement on energy efficiency and clean energy policies and practices. The Program supports state and local NAACP units in key states to close dirty coal plants, further energy efficiency and clean energy, and defend the EPA’s ability to implement the Clean Air Act.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Recognizing that more than 65 percent of African Americans live within thirty miles of a coal plant, the organization created the Environmental and Climate Justice Program in 2010 to reduce harmful global warming and other pollutants and advance pubic awareness of and engagement with clean energy issues. The Program would work with local volunteers and Black church leaders in key states to support efforts focused on replacing dirty coal plants with cleaner energy and defending the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to reduce global warming emissions at power plants across the country.