For Immediate Release: March 1, 2022
Contact: Sarah Bucci, Water Hub, sbucci@climatenexus.org, 303-931-6049
US infrastructure investments must prioritize climate-resilience in vulnerable communities
Water Equity & Climate Resilience leaders respond to IPCC
Yesterday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest report confirming what communities living the impacts of climate change have long known: we haven't done enough to protect our communities and ecosystems from climate-driven destruction.
In response, the co-chairing organizations of the Water Equity & Climate Resilience Caucus released the following statements:
Sriram Madhusoodanan, International Strategy Director, Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy:
“The primary cause of the climate crisis is the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, so the first step is to phase out extraction as soon as possible. This means no new drilling of oil and gas anywhere, but especially on federal lands and waters, and we stand with Indigenous water protectors across the continent who have been fighting this for years. We cannot invest in fossil fuel-based solutions such as refining natural gas for hydrogen fuels and carbon capture pipelines, and we call on the federal government to cease subsidizing these climate scams. Instead we must rapidly adopt justly-sourced renewable energy and electrification.
The IPCC report also confirms that there is a point beyond which we simply cannot “adapt” to climate change. There is a moment after rising sea levels swallow the land or raging wildfires and rising temperatures make the land uninhabitable. We must account for this irreparable loss and damage in our climate response plans and prepare to welcome in people who have been displaced. Rich countries and corporations have caused and profited disproportionately from fueling the climate crisis, and we echo calls from the Global South that these countries have an obligation to pay reparations in the form of funding for Loss and Damage, financing a global transition off fossil fuels, and adopting humane immigration policies.”
Yasmin Zaerpoor, Director of Water Equity and Climate Resilience with PolicyLink
“Access to safe, affordable water is directly connected to climate justice. After Hurricane Ida, thousands of families were left without clean drinking water for weeks. Drought conditions in the West put the human right to water at risk. And across the United States, failing infrastructure is leaving communities with high water bills and unsafe drinking water and sanitation.
The IPCC report shows low-income and communities of color bear the greatest impacts of climate change, and we haven’t done enough to prepare. We must ensure the nearly $50 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal meant to improve the nation’s drinking water and sanitation systems is dedicated to water and climate resilience. That means updating aging infrastructure in overburdened communities, investing in community-driven projects and following the leadership of Black, Indigenous and frontline communities.”
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About the Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus
The WECR Caucus is a national network of organizations working to address water equity and climate resilience — centering frontline communities of color and low-income communities. It is co-chaired by PolicyLink and the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy.