ONLINE: Energy and Climate Justice

media release: The Wisconsin Energy Institute's (WEI) Forward in Energy Forum brings together experts from across UW–Madison to address the many dimensions of our global transition to clean energy systems. Through sustained, cross-disciplinary dialogue, forum participants find new ways to advance campus energy research through new collaborations and partnerships, discover new insights that can be translated into public policy, and explore the social, political, and economic aspects of a wide variety of clean energy technologies.

The negative economic and environmental impacts of our fossil fuel based energy system have concentrated effects on communities of color. Centuries of racial segregation, redlining, and unequal pay have left these marginalized groups on land where they face disproportionately high levels of pollution and are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Communities of color also face systemic disadvantages in energy costs, higher energy burdens, and limited access to renewable energy benefits.

Join us on November 17 from 4:15–5:45pm for a panel discussion on these issues and how we can address energy and climate justice with introductory remarks from Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes.

moderator: Maria Redmond, director of the Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy

participants:

Shalanda H. Baker, professor of law, public policy and urban affairs, Northeastern University School of Law

Jessica LeClair, clinical instructor, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Joel Rogers, professor of law, political science, public affairs, and sociology, University of Wisconsin–Madison