Environmental/Climate Justice

The NAACP has been working with communities across the country that stand to experience the negative impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. Using policy, the courts, and advocacy, they are committed to making sure the harms to residents and the environment don't outweigh the proposed benefits. This page includes recommendations for protecting frontline communities, community benefit agreement template and resources, and frontline framework community guiding principles.

Northwest Indiana has long been one of the most industrialized corridors in the country. The cities of East Chicago, Hammond, and Whiting, situated on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, are dominated by oil refineries, steel mills, and chemical plants. The BP Whiting Refinery, one of the largest in the U.S., anchors the area—bringing jobs, but also frequent accidents, flaring events, and generations of toxic pollution. These communities are known as “sacrifice zones”—bearing disproportionate burdens of fossil fuel pollution and health risks. Blue hydrogen is made from natural gas, with carbon emissions captured and stored underground instead of being released. It requires pipelines to transport both the hydrogen to users and the captured carbon dioxide to storage sites. JTNWI recognized the urgent need for door-to-door education and organizing to counter corporate narratives and ensure residents’ voices were heard. Launched in June 2023, the canvass aimed to educate residents, capture community concerns, and build local leadership around the MachH2 project.

These resources will help advocates remain emotionally resilient in the face of climate disaster and an uncertain future. Resources such as a recording, workbook, and model are included.

Video, Katrina20, is a twenty year look back on Hurricane Katrina and how communities continue to support each other against climate disasters.

This session is designed for people who are new to climate justice or looking to better understand where they fit

Video, Katrina20, is a twenty year look back on Hurricane Katrina and how communities continue to support each other against climate disasters.

Explore how communities can take care of each other’s needs equitably during a changing climate future.

Join us for our final Clean Energy Deep Dive of the year, featuring Clean Virginia– a group on the frontlines of the fight for a just and equitable clean energy transition.