CLIMATE CRISIS COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

WASHINGTON – Thursday, November 21 at 11:00 a.m. ET on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) will lead a hearing of Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis entitled, “Perspectives From The Front Lines: How Climate Change Uniquely Impacts Environmental Justice Communities.” At Thursday’s hearing, the special committee—which is chaired by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and is affiliated with the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee—will listen to leaders from low-income communities and communities of color that bear the brunt of our environmental burdens and discuss the unique climate change impacts they are facing as well as their vision for national climate change action.

WHAT:
Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis Hearing: Perspectives From The Front Lines: How Climate Change Uniquely Impacts Environmental Justice Communities.

WHEN:
Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 11:00 AM ET

WHERE:
U.S. Capitol
Senate Visitors Center (SVC)
Room 210/212

WHO:
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Hearing Chair - Prepared Opening Statement 

Dr. Cecilia Martinez, Co-founder and Executive Director, Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy - Prepared Testimony
Michele Roberts, National Co-Coordinator, EJ Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, and EJ4All - Prepared Testimony
Celeste Flores, Lake County, IL Outreach Director, Faith in Place - Prepared Testimony

Low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately and adversely impacted by contaminated air, land, and water due to generations of economic and racial inequality. These same communities are already disproportionately experiencing the impacts of intensifying climate change, including more powerful storms and floods, more intense heat waves, more deadly wildfires, more extreme droughts, and other climate issues. Under the Trump Administration, EPA inspections of industrial facilities has fallen dramatically, which also puts these communities at an even greater risk.

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