BIPOC leaders talk climate justice

Panelists discuss community impacts, reparations and COP26

by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service

Photo illustration by Gerd Altmann via Pixabay

LOUISVILLE — A diverse group of panelists concerned about how vulnerable communities are being impacted locally and globally by climate change and climate justice issues was featured in a webinar this week by the Washington office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and some of its partners.

The virtual event was co-hosted by Christian Brooks, the representative for domestic issues in the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness; Laura Kigweba James, director of grassroots organizing at The General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church; and Karyn Bigelow, co-executive director of Creation Justice Ministries.

They welcomed four panelists representing different parts of the United States as well as Nigeria to discuss how minority communities are being harmed by climate change and industrial practices and how world leaders and people of faith can respond to it.

Yvette Arellano, a Mexican American Gulf Coast organizer who founded the advocacy group Fenceline Watch, shared how people in the heart of the Houston shipping channel are being affected by “oil, gas and fossil fuel hazardous infrastructure.” While industry churns out cheap fuel and cheap plastics, community members are grappling with infertility and other medical conditions, Arellano said, adding, “It’s our health that’s on the line.”

Fellow panelist Bette Billiot, a member of the United Houma Nation in south Louisiana, described how her area has been pounded by human made and natural disasters, such as Hurricane Ida, and how she’s determined to stay put nevertheless.

“Our people stretch out for six parishes,” said Billiot, who lives in the lower Terrebonne Parish. “I’m committed to staying. I love this place. I love this land. Many of my family and community feel the same way. We’re not going anywhere” despite having to rebuild or save what’s left after each disaster.

Billiot and other speakers also shared their experiences at and thoughts about the UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, and related activities, such as a large march, both held late last year.

“For me, personally, I was honored to be asked to be there to represent our Indigenous people from Louisiana, from the Gulf south,” Billiot said. “My favorite part is always connecting with the global south and being able to see so many relatives, so many brothers and sisters across this nation that are going through the exact same situations that we are going (through) … maybe in different spaces, but it’s the same fight that you see in those other countries” and communities, so it’s good to meet those people and learn “how we can do things together.”

Tiffany Fant, a social and environmental justice advocate with an emphasis on Black liberation, also spoke about the importance of networking with other people in the struggle, particularly people in African countries who have difficulty getting to COP, which was most recently held in Glasgow, Scotland.

COP is not “grassroots friendly,” said Fant, who’s based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and serves as co-executive director of Sol Nation, a climate justice organization. “We have to band together to have a loud voice.”

Arellano noted that although COP26 was touted as being the most open of the COPs, “not everyone has a computer. Not everyone speaks English, so the barriers kept coming up and it’s important for us to be able to name what those barriers are so we can get to a solution,” the activist said.

Panelists Ibe Peniel, Yvette Arellano, Tiffany Fant and Bette Billiot discussed the impact of climate change and industrial practices on vulnerable communities during a webinar co-hosted by Laura Kigweba James (far right) and others. (Screenshot)

Fellow panelist Peniel Ibe talked about her native Nigeria. She described the country as one suffering from an “oil curse,” which refers to the fact that Nigeria’s oil has “made others wealthy while decimating communities and lives and structures.”

Ibe also noted that there’s been a lack of investment in various areas of the nation, including education and health care, prompting many people to migrate elsewhere to find better opportunities.

As communities around the world face various climate and environmental crises, the topic of climate reparations has been raised. Peniel offered several thoughts on the topic and tried to debunk some myths about it.

Climate reparations are “an apology and an acknowledgement that what has been done to our communities is wrong. It is not aid,” said Peniel, policy engagement coordinator at the American Friends Service Committee’s Office of Public Policy and Advocacy.

She went on to say, “I see climate reparations included in every section: climate reparations as part of adaptation, climate reparations as part of mitigation, climate reparations as climate reparations itself.”

She also spoke of the need for faith communities to support the cause.

“Think about climate reparations as a solidarity piece,” Peniel said. “Think about working towards getting it done and addressing climate justice and environmental justice” as a way to practice your faith and your hope, realizing that “you have power to make change.”

Fant went in a different direction by stressing the need for churches to address a variety of issues, from colonization to microaggressions to misogyny and affordable housing, and to take action “in a way that’s inclusive of all people.”

The webinar closed with a call to action to support pertinent legislation, such as the Environmental Justice for All Act and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021, which includes a bill to establish a grant program to protect vulnerable mothers and babies from climate change.

“Climate change has a huge effect on maternal health,” Brooks said.

Watch the full discussion here.

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is one of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.