CLIMATE REALITY AWARDS $200,000 IN GRANTS TO GRASSROOTS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS

Ten frontline-led organizations will receive $20,000 each in funding for local projects in communities disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis and environmental injustice.

June 2, 2022

(Washington DC—June 2, 2022) – Today, The Climate Reality Project announced 10 recipients of $200,000 in grants to lead the fight for environmental and climate justice, as part of the organization’s third annual Climate Justice For All grants program. Each organization will receive $20,000 in funding for local projects in communities disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis and environmental injustice.

The Climate Reality Project established the Climate Justice For All grants in 2020 to help empower the vital work of frontline and BIPOC communities, faith groups, and youth activists working to call attention to the link between the climate crisis and systemic discrimination.

“Some of the climate movement’s most effective advocates are those who rally against the industrial pollution and toxic waste that poisons communities across the country—disproportionately, Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities,” said former Vice President Al Gore, founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project. “The recipients of our Climate Justice for All grants each demonstrate the power of grassroots activism and the importance of elevating the voices and work of those who on the frontlines of climate crisis and environmental racism. We must continue to push forward solutions that not only address rising temperatures, dangerous pollution, and toxic waste, but also systemic inequality and racism impacting these communities.”

Applicants to the Climate Justice For All grants submitted proposals detailing projects and initiatives that directly address environmental justice issues in communities around the United States and Puerto Rico. Submissions were evaluated based on how their project will aim to:

Raise awareness of the disproportionate impacts of climate change in frontline communities and the need for clean energy and energy efficiency.
Mobilize communities against the fossil fuel industry and in support of emissions reduction.
Engage communities in green workforce development opportunities (related to climate, natural disasters, environment, clean transportation, housing, water and wastewater infrastructure) or in paths for a just transition to clean energy.
Further community resilience to climate change, environmental injustices, and/or legacy pollution.

This year’s Climate Justice For All grants will support the 10 organizations listed below and help fund project-based climate initiatives between May and December of 2022. The recipients are:

Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates will train a new generation of youth leaders in environmental advocacy, local data analysis, and community outreach in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Through the implementation of a Community Toxic Index, youth will help catalog 40 sites that are under environmental agency monitoring.

Girl Plus Environment will educate, engage, and empower Black and Brown women and non-binary individuals living in Atlanta, Georgia to advocate for clean energy initiatives that lower the energy burden and prioritize the needs of communities of color.

Mycelium Youth Network will support local high school students in Oakland, California in conducting a community needs assessment, which will identify two to four actionable solutions to climate-related issues impacting the community.

PANIC (People Against Neighborhood Industrial Contamination) will work to identify residents who desire to be compensated or relocated from the North Birmingham 35^th Avenue Superfund Site in Alabama and assess components needed for a more just and equitable relocation and buyout program.

Rio Grande International Study Center will engage 25 college-aged students in a series of workshops to mobilize them to combat the on-going climate crisis in the South Texas border region through the creation of an active chapter at the local college level in Laredo. Workshops will increase leadership skills in public speaking, grassroots organizing, and community outreach.

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference will launch a Dialogue for Justice series in Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, and Dallas to engage intergenerational Black communities in conversations about environmental racism, so that they together might determine how to tap into the environmental justice movement.

SWEET Alabama (Sustainable Water, Energy & Economic Transition in Alabama) will launch a 16-week part-time paid fellowship that will train five youth fellows on how to expand their political education around climate and environmental justice and learn vocational skills to energy retrofit housing in Birmingham, Alabama.

Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans plans to conduct water quality testing in the River Parishes of Louisiana known as Cancer Alley to raise awareness on the true impact pollutants have on communities that tend to be disadvantaged and marginalized. The goal is to empower local communities to combat legacy pollution and provide information for better policymaking.

West Street Recovery will develop five community disaster preparedness hub houses to support areas vulnerable to climate disasters in Northeastern Houston. The hub houses will be equipped with critical supplies, power generation and storage, and emergency climate control, and will serve as a gathering point for families impacted by climate change.

We the People of Detroit will be leading a Water Policy Education and Engagement Project which aims to raise awareness and mobilize Detroiters to act against the impending December 2022 deadline for water shutoff moratoriums.

For more information about the Climate Justice for All grants and this year’s recipients, please visit: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/climatejusticegrants.

ABOUT THE CLIMATE REALITY PROJECT

Founded by Nobel Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore, The Climate Reality Project is working to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society. With a global movement more than 5 million strong and a grassroots network of trained Climate Reality Leader activists, we are spreading the truth about the climate crisis and building popular support for clean energy solutions. For more information, visit climaterealityproject.org or follow us on Twitter at @ClimateReality.