ensuring everyone has a seat at the “climate table”

Aug 25

published 8.25.22

This is the second piece in our Climate Justice “With Not For” series. To meet our Climate Justice Advisors, click here.

I’m Obiageli [oh-bee-uh-gail-ee] my name means ‘one who has come to enjoy life’ — not to suffer. I believe our names truly define us, and mine not only shapes me as a person, but also the impact I want to leave in this world. Growing up in Sunnyside, Houston, Texas— a systemically underserved and underinvested community that will soon house the largest urban solar farm in the U.S.— I experienced climate injustice firsthand.

Climate justice matters to me because, growing up in the ‘90s, my trek to school consisted of crossing railroad tracks, passing an industrial piping company, and maneuvering under a busy freeway. This matters because three decades earlier, a young child drowned in a pond of rain and garbage runoff from an incinerator in this area that spewed deadly levels of lead into the air. That incinerator was strategically placed in Sunnyside, a predominantly Black community.

I do this work to ensure all voices are fully considered in the fight for equity and a sustainable future.

How do we (as a society) begin to ensure all voices are heard?
First, let’s acknowledge that climate and environmental inequities look different all around the world, so justice is not one size fits all. I like to think of justice being molded and changing from community to community and between individuals within the same community. Even if the science of climate change is universal, the battles we live and the realities we face are not.

When Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on the City of Houston in 2017, many communities experienced drastic winds, unprecedented amounts of rainfall, and power outages. Yet, almost five years later, some communities are still living in homes ravaged by Harvey’s floodwaters, makeshift or temporary situations, or even cancer clusters. When you live in Houston’s Fifth Ward near the Union Pacific railyard’s creosote contamination, a flood or winter storm worsens your already vulnerable community. These intricate dynamics are apparent in a community’s day-to-day.

We in positions of privilege and decision-making authority must recognize the need to meet people where they are. Often, the policies and initiatives implemented in response to climate change lack plausibility because individuals with the lived experiences being planned for were not included in the development process.

The voices we need to hear, and the seats that need to be occupied are out working long nights.

These voices have no transportation to make meetings on time.

These voices tune in on their cellphones with whatever WiFi they can pick up.

These voices have no cellphone, tablet or computer to participate.

These voices have disabilities that impair hearing, vision and speech.

These voices are contemplating their next meal and keeping their head above water.

For these voices, being truly heard so often has to come if and whenever it can. These are the voices of the people who never get to speak because the inequities in their lives ensure they don't. For far too long, community engagement as it relates to climate justice has been a closed loop, a catch-22. Here’s how you start:

8 steps to start taking an equitable approach to outreach and engagement in communities:

Identify socially vulnerable communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change
Perform outreach to individuals in these communities utilizing people-first methods
Provide compensation for sharing their lived experiences, a form of expertise that only they possess
Create a space where everyone can speak up and show up authentically
Facilitate the relationship between stakeholders (internal + external) to ensure that findings are accessible to all
Remember that the language used in facilitation matters
Prioritize transparency in the exchange of information
Never rinse, repeat and recycle outreach tactics — embrace diversity in outreach and mechanisms

A climate listening tour:

The City of Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the United States. Over six months, we held discussions with individuals from several communities in Northeast Houston. The individuals in these communities live near refineries and railroads, in food deserts, unincorporated communities, cancer clusters, and areas in the midst of revitalization by way of gentrification-just to name a sampling of inequities experienced. My colleague, Montserrat, and I spoke with community leaders at 9 am on weekend mornings and at 6:30 pm on weekday nights. We were intentional about prioritizing equity in our community engagement by meeting people where they are, which increased the seats at the table in our work to address climate action. We hope to have provided a catalyst to ensure all voices are heard and planned for as we continue to discuss the impacts of climate change.

To learn more about our climate resilience work, visit our services page or contact us for more information. Thank you for reading.