Fact Check: Vice President Harris' Remarks on Disaster Relief and Equity
Mostly False
Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the importance of addressing inequities in climate change and disaster relief responses because lower income communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by climate change.
In late September, Kamala Harris spoke at the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum in Washington DC, in a conversation moderated by Priyanka Chopra. During the event, Chopra asked about the Biden Administration’s efforts for hurricane relief after Hurricane Ian and followed up by asking about the administration's goals for protecting vulnerable communities around the world. In her response, Vice President Harris mostly addressed the second question, talking about the importance of equity in the climate change response and what could and should be done stating, “Us as the United States to own responsibility for what we rightly should do to recognize these disparities and contribute in a way that is fair with the goal of equitable priorities.” However, her statements were misconstrued, leading to several tweets emphasizing that Vice President Harris only wants to provide disaster relief to people of color.
After Hurricane Harvey, researchers found that low-income communities are more likely to live in housing with poor infrastructure that is unable to stand the impacts of storms and noted how difficult it is to recover economically from natural disasters. A 2021 EPA report states that Asian Americans “currently live in areas with the highest projected increases in traffic delays associated with high-tide flooding. Asian Americans also currently live in areas with the highest projected increases in childhood asthma diagnoses from climate-driven changes in PM.”
The same EPA report states that Black communities are “40% more likely to currently live in areas with the highest projected increases in extreme temperature-related deaths with 2°C of global warming” and that they have “the highest increases in mortality rates due to climate-driven changes in extreme temperatures.” Therefore it is important to understand how different communities will be impacted and how to provide tailored solutions and preventative measures instead of creating a one-size-fits-all strategy.
Environmental justice, as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” Providing environmental justice to everyone requires centering equity in the climate change response.
The US Climate Resilience Toolkit released a comprehensive Practitioner’s Guide for Climate Change and Equity, outlining factors for consideration such as understanding historical context, creating community, assessing assets and vulnerabilities, etc. These guidelines can be used as methods of developing policies that serve vulnerable communities in the climate change response.
In her remarks at the DNC Women’s Leadership Forum, Vice President Harris was emphasizing the importance of equity in fighting climate change and providing funding for especially vulnerable communities. Her words were removed from their context and reduced her statements to something she did not say.
References and Further Reading:
Eleanor Krause and Richard V. Reeves. Brookings Institution. Hurricanes hit the poor the hardest. 18 September 2017.
Environment Protection Agency. Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States: A Focus on Six Impacts. 2021.
Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Justice.
