The statewide struggle to address the impacts of climate change will come to San Diego on Thursday, July 14. The California Air Resources Board will, for the first time in history, host a public workshop in Barrio Logan to openly discuss the effects of climate change on low-income communities of color.

Environmental Health Coalition (EHC), an organization fighting toxic pollution in San Diego and Tijuana, encourages the community to attend this unprecedented opportunity to speak candidly with statewide policy makers about the harmful impacts of climate change in disadvantaged communities and provide proposed solutions to benefit those neighborhoods first.

“These public workshops are an acknowledgement that our communities are hit first and worst by the harmful effects of climate change and air pollution,” says Diane Takvorian, executive director of Environmental Health Coalition and member of the Air Resources Board. “It’s critical that residents share their stories at this meeting and that policy makers in Sacramento hear their voices. We applaud the Air Resources Board for its commitment to environmental justice.”

The Air Resources Board will host up to 15 workshops in low-income communities of color across California to guide the third update to the scoping plan for the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). This plan, which describes the approach California will take to reach its climate change goals, requires the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below1990 levels by the year 2030.

According to EHC, the impacts of a changing climate are most detrimental in neighborhoods that:

• Breathe the highest levels of air pollution from trucks, freeways and industrial sources
• Live in old, unhealthy homes lacking energy efficiency and solar energy
• Lack access to safe, affordable and convenient transit, bicycling and walking options
• Face the highest rates of unemployment, underemployment and low-wage jobs

Join the workshop in Barrio Logan on Thursday, July 14 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Cesar E. Chavez Campus – San Diego Continuing Education (1901 Main Street). The meeting will feature English, Spanish and Vietnamese translations.

For more information on the meetings, please click here. To learn more about the harmful impacts of climate change in the San Diego/Tijuana region, please click here.