Climate Justice Alliance

CJA is a collaborative of more than 35 community-based and movement support organizations uniting frontline communities. CJA is forging a scalable, and socio-economically just transition away from unsustainable energy towards local living economies to address the root causes of climate change.

It is rooted in Indigenous, African American, Latino, Asian Pacific Islander and working-class white communities throughout the US Through the Our Power Campaign – Communities United for a Just Transition, the CJA is applying the power of deep grassroots organizing to win local, regional, statewide and national shifts. These communities comprise more than 100 million people, often living near toxic, climate polluting energy infrastructure or other facilities. As racially oppressed and/or economically marginalized groups, these communities have suffered disproportionately from the impacts of pollution and the ecological crisis, and share deep histories of struggle in every arena, including organizing, mass direct action, electoral work, cultural revival and policy advocacy.

New Campaign Campaigns

Immediate Large-Scale Just Recovery and Relief Aid Package for Puerto Rico
On September 20, Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph winds, struck Puerto Rico full force only days after the Irma storm. One week later, Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents are suffering intensely in what has quickly become a major humanitarian and environmental justice disaster. The delivery of aid to Puerto Rico has been delayed, in part because of the Jones Act, a 1920 law that prohibits freight delivery to Puerto Rico on non-U.S. ships. The Act was recently repealed for 10 days. However, that is not enough time to be effective. The potential for great loss of life increases daily. Water, food, and medicine have become extremely scarce and material aid is bottlenecked by bureaucracy at the ports. 70,000 people were evacuated from an area near a failing dam that had not been inspected since 2013. Puerto Rico is home to 23 Superfund sites--industrially polluted areas that have been identified as too dangerously contaminated for humans and livestock to inhabit or use. These, and many other toxic sites were flooded, adding to the multiple sources of danger Puerto Ricans currently face. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ceased operations, removing its workers because it has deemed the island “too hazardous.” Science states that climate catastrophes are going to intensify. We have deep concerns about the breach of the democratic process needed to respond to the Puerto Rican people in this state of emergency and--in the long term--to rebuild Puerto Rico in a way that future storms will not decimate it again. "Standard responses to disasters leave behind more pollution, more debt, less democracy, and a weaker infrastructure. In contrast, a Just Recovery would reduce pollution, reduce debt, challenge systemic racism, deepen democracy, and leave behind a sturdier, more resilient public sphere." - Naomi Klein This is not business as usual or an opportunity for Wall Street to make money off of vulnerable communities. This moment requires a proactive vision, strong coordination, and a regenerative economic and environmental approach to the crisis, informed by the people of Puerto Rico. This is not the moment to abandon Puerto Rico.

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