Communities of color and low-income communities are actually the most vulnerable to dealing with the devastating effects of climate change, experts say.
“When it’s really hot, people simply can’t afford to turn on the air conditioning because the apartments they live in don’t have it,” says Sissy Trinh, executive director of the Southeast Asian Community Alliance (SEACA) in Los Angeles.
“They are also the poorest people who are least likely to have a car to flee a wildfire,” he added. “We as a society often neglect our most vulnerable residents.”
Sissy Trinh, Chynell Freeman, Associate Environmental Policy Planner, Yvette López Ledesma, Senior Director of Community-Led Conservation at the Wilderness Society, and Manuel Ortiz were part of a panel that highlighted the critical role ethnic media play as community informants and participants in the challenges of climate change adaptation and resilience.
“People in the government are responding to our needs,” Sissy Trinh told La Opinión.
The panel was moderated by Jon Christensen, adjunct assistant professor at the Institute for Environment and Sustainability at UCLA.
The discussion held in Sacramento during the Ethnic Media Services (EMS) awards gala focused on the vulnerability of low-income communities of color in California to the impacts of climate change, such as heat waves and wildfires.
New records for high temperatures
Days after that event, five daily high temperature records were broken in Los Angeles and Orange counties during the first week of September, set in the summer of 2020.
A reading of 102 degrees at Los Angeles International Airport broke the 2020 record of 99 degrees, and 109 degrees at Long Beach Airport surpassed the 2020 record of 104.
A temperature of 114 degrees at Burbank Airport marked an all-time high since the weather service began keeping records in 1939.
Additionally, three large fires are currently burning through tens of thousands of acres of brush, destroying hundreds of structures and decimating wildlife in the region: the Bridge Fire, the Line Fire, and the Airport Fire.
Economic and environmental challenges and multi-billion dollar investment
In April 2023, the California Air Resources Board reported in its annual California Climate Investments report that 74% of 2022 investments (nearly $1 billion) supported communities and households facing greater economic and environmental challenges.
California’s Climate Investments initiative is a critical component of the state’s transition to a more equitable, carbon-neutral future.
In 2022 alone, California Climate Investments implemented nearly 19,500 new projects investing $1.3 billion in financing, of which $933 million directly benefited disadvantaged communities and low-income communities and households, collectively referred to as priority populations.”
These California climate investments are funded by Cap-and-Trade auction revenues deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
To date, California’s Climate Investments programs are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 97.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e).
Thanks to these investments, more than 20 million trees have been planted in urban and wild areas; more than 891,000 acres of land have been conserved or restored; and 10,300 affordable housing units have been financed.
Additionally, 1,060 projects were implemented to expand or create new transit services, 21,300 people were given full-time employment, and more than 427,500 rebates were issued for plug-in hybrid or zero-emission vehicles.
How severe is climate change in California? What is the current situation?
Jon Christensen told La Opinión that community organizations and advocates can partner with ethnic media to tell their own stories in a simple, honest, and more culturally accurate way about climate change and greening.
“I feel like low-income communities of color are actually the most vulnerable. They’re the least likely to have cars that can get away from a wildfire,” Christensen said.
“Or when it’s very hot, they don’t have or can’t afford to have air conditioning in their apartments, so the heat affects them on a much deeper level.”
Has there been a genuine response from authorities at all levels?
“Some are responding. I think they are trying, but they don’t know how to do it in a way that is sensitive or really makes sense for the needs of our communities,” Christensen said.
I exemplify this by recalling that, in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, former Mayor Eric Garcetti advised buying food for two weeks.
“We work with seniors who live in rent control and share a kitchen with 30 other tenants. They don’t have space to store food for two weeks, nor do they have money to buy food for two weeks,” said the founding professor of the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS) at UCLA.
“That’s just one example of good intentions, but a little bit misplaced,” he added. “When it comes to climate change, a lot of the recommendations are like turning the air conditioning up a little bit. I remember one gentleman who was 78 years old and thinking that he couldn’t afford air conditioning. There are strategies that work for some people, but not for others.”
Is it like a vicious circle of good intentions, but no solutions?
“When you talk about trying to stay out of the sun between 10 in the morning and four in the afternoon when it’s hottest, how do you deal with people who need to be out there on the sidewalks, working? I remember one year there was a senior who was like 88 years old. It was 110 degrees and she was selling, and she needs to sell to make money. How is she going to pay rent?”
She adds that “the advice to stay out of the sun is good, but if she doesn’t work then she doesn’t make money and then she doesn’t have enough to pay rent. That’s what I mean by advice that doesn’t work if you’re in a different situation.”
For the expert, climate change is not only about temperature, extreme heat, and the burden of environmental pollution suffered by marginalized communities due to automobile traffic, freight transport, air and water pollution, but about the entire environment, social, economic, political, etc.
“All of that is increasing dramatically, but at the same time there are opportunities for solutions, and it’s really important that the communities that ethnic media serve deeply understand those challenges and opportunities and are also involved in advocating for themselves to ensure that those solutions reach their communities,” she said.
$10 billion for zero-emission vehicles (ZEV)
On this topic, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has already approved a $1.9 billion electric vehicle infrastructure investment plan, which will accelerate progress on the state’s electric vehicle (EV) charging and hydrogen refueling goals.
The plan details how the CEC Clean Transportation Program will spend that state-funded money over the next four years, with at least 50% earmarked to benefit the most vulnerable or low-income populations.
The funding is part of California’s $48 billion Climate Commitment, which includes more than $10 billion for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and ZEV infrastructure. The state has also received billions from the Biden-Harris Administration for clean transportation.
According to the CCE, the $1.9 billion in funding will translate into 40,000 new chargers across the state.
Combined with previous investment plans, federal government funding, utilities and other programs, the state hopes to reach 250,000 chargers in the next few years. This is in addition to private installations and home chargers.
Call to cities to prepare
Jon Christensen said cities in southeast Los Angeles such as Maywood, Cudahy, Lynwood, Huntington Park and others such as El Monte and Pacoima should work with community organizations to identify opportunities to apply for grants for parks and urban greening projects.
“When we talk about greening, we are talking about green areas in urban areas, in cities that are near the Los Angeles River or somewhere else in the state of California,” he said.
So what is the worst problem we face in California?
“I think the biggest challenge right now is being able to really bring those billions of dollars into communities that historically have not benefited from them and ensure that those results are converted into projects that are good for the health of communities in the face of climate change.”
“Also, to make them stronger and better prepared to seek even more investments in the years and decades ahead that help correct historical injustices and inequities in communities that have not seen these types of investments, and when they have seen them, they have often been projects like the Los Angeles River or the 710 Freeway that divide communities and harm them.”