Vulnerable Communities and Climate Justice: A Roundtable

Organized by the Institute for Environment, Conservation and Sustainability (IECS), in partnership with Another Story Bookshop, Harbinger Media and the National Observer

The wealthiest are the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s marginalized and working-class communities that bear the brunt of climate impacts. Join us for a roundtable discussion on the unequal burden of climate change, examining how vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected and how they will play a key role in advancing a fair, inclusive transition. We’ll also explore why some voices have been left out of environmental movements and how we can create pathways to inclusive climate action.

Angele Alook is an Associate Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies and a member of Bigstone Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory. Her research has focused on the political economy of oil and gas in Alberta.

Geoff Dembicki is an investigative journalist and author of The Petroleum Papers (named a best book of the year by the Washington Post), which covers historical disinformation efforts related to Alberta’s oil sands.

Matt Huber is a researcher and author (most recently) of Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Climate.

Zamani Ra is a Toronto-based activist and founder of CEED, a not-for-profit environmental education organization that provides tools and resources to social housing community stakeholders. She is a member of the Black Environmentalist Alliance and sits on the anti-Black Racism Strategy board at Toronto Community Housing.

Hannah Tollefson is a postdoctoral fellow in the IECS. She is a media and environmental studies scholar who works on questions of ecology, economy, and infrastructure.