Climate

Climate Justice

Climate justice begins with an acknowledgement that the effects of a changing climate are not distributed equitably. Climate change’s effects disproportionately impact historically marginalized, underserved and underrepresented communities — often communities of color.

This inequity is why WWF’s climate and environmental justice work is centered around the advancement of social, economic and environmental benefits for communities at the frontlines of climate impacts.

This community-benefits lens is primarily channeled through two national and global initiatives in which WWF participates: America Is All In and the Renewable Thermal Collaborative.

With the lessons learned from these programs, WWF is developing a climate and environmental justice strategy that:

• Advances a just transition
• Integrates community benefits within renewable energy development
• Champions community-centered climate policies at the federal and sub-national levels

America Is All In (All In) is a whole-of-society effort to achieve at least 50% emissions reductions by 2030. It is the largest US-based climate coalition, with more than 5,000 members that represent half of the US population across all 50 states.

All In’s members comprise states, local governments, Tribal Nations, cultural institutions, businesses, healthcare and higher-education organizations, faith groups and individual investors. This coalition uses its platform to advocate for community-led, justice- and equity-driven approaches to climate action.

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) is the leading coalition for organizations that are committed to scaling up renewable thermal energy in the US and globally. RTC, founded in 2017, is facilitated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), and David Gardiner and Associates (DGA). Its members include manufacturers, higher education institutions, state and local governments, and solutions providers - renewable thermal suppliers, producers, and professional service firms - which provide institutional support for the RTC’s work to advance renewable thermal solutions for large customers.

RTC seeks to use federal climate policy and investments to transform corporate responsibility approaches so that they simultaneously deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to disadvantaged communities.

WWF’s climate justice work with the RTC currently focuses on:

Integrating Community Benefits within Industrial Decarbonization and Renewable Energy Deployment

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a landmark federal law that provides historic investments and incentives for non-federal government entities, institutions, non-profit organizations, community-based organizations and the private sector to advance climate action, deploy and develop renewable energy technologies, accelerate decarbonization while delivering social, economic and environmental benefits for disadvantaged communities.

The majority of IRA incentives require recipients to develop community benefits plans and agreements, meaningfully engage the workforce and community actors, and deliver social, economic and environmental co-benefits to priority communities. RTC is leveraging this historic moment by supporting companies and government entities in their efforts to integrate a community benefits framework into their corporate sustainability and industrial decarbonization strategies and practices.

Justice40

The federal government has enacted the Justice40 Initiative, a federal policy that seeks to deliver at least “40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.”

RTC has conducted analysis identifying how many and which member facilities are located within at least one of the six community categories prioritized by the IRA and may be eligible for support from programs covered by the Justice40 initiative based on their location, mapping facilities across the United States. The Justice40 opportunity assessment enables the RTC to help connect Members with the policy support available and simultaneously advance company sustainability goals, national emissions targets, and justice objectives.

Community Benefits Advisory Board

In October 2023, the RTC launched its Community Benefits Advisory Board (CBAB) to advance social, environmental and economic co-benefits for workers and communities through the renewable thermal energy transition. The CBAB supports RTC members, solutions providers and staff with advice and guidance in building relationships with community and worker stakeholders.

RTC is currently working with the Sustain Our Future Foundation and WSP to develop the Best Practices for Delivering Community Benefits when Advancing Renewable Thermal Energy Solutions in the U.S. or community benefits handbook to support members, solutions providers, staff and external stakeholders with the integration of a community benefits framework in alignment with federal legislation and policies like IRA and Justice40.