We’re building power in communities across Pennsylvania that have been impacted by climate and environmental injustice.
Our Mission
The PA Climate Equity Table seeks to unite urban, rural, and suburban voices for racial, economic, and climate justice by building: community; electoral power; shared racial and environmental justice analysis; and policy change. We seek a just and equitable transition from our extractive economy to an economy that is regenerative, renewable, and just.
We envision a thriving Commonwealth that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of all its people, works for ecological justice, protects the sacredness of our air, water, and land, champions workers’ rights and status, and advances racial and economic justice in communities. We serve as a coordinated and aligned effort of local-based organizations working together to achieve common goals that will benefit all across the state.
The table strives to:
- Build power in Black, Brown, and impacted communities on environmental and climate justice issues that intersect with economy and other sectors;
- Move community-driven policy solutions on a radical yet possible vision for a more equitable, just, climate-resilient and fossil-free Pennsylvania economy; and
- Be a voice for racial equity and justice on climate issues that is an alternative to environmental and decarbonization efforts not rooted in community solutions.
Founded in 2018, current members of the PA Climate Equity Table include:
- CASA
- Center for Coalfield Justice
- Make the Road PA
- PA Stands Up
- POWER Interfaith
- Pittsburgh United
- Philly Thrive
- One PA
- APIPA
Messaging Guide
From hotter summers, to more dangerous storms, to our corporate utilities raising rates, we’ve known for decades that wealthy corporate polluters are worsening the climate crisis. The communities who’ve been hit hardest have been the ones showing us the way, raising the alarm about the harm to our long-term health and wellbeing to hold fossil fuel and private utility corporations accountable. And yet, as our communities now rise up in the face of an authoritarian leader who seeks to control our freedoms and futures, it can feel hard to draw connections between climate solutions and this urgent threat.
If there is any good news, advocating for good stewardship of our ecosystems necessarily also means telling a coherent story about the choices elected leaders make. Our freedom to have a say in the decisions that impact our lives means having our voices heard on clean air, land, and water, reliable wages we can depend on, and fully funded systems that allow us to live good lives.
This messaging guidance exists to help make that case clearly and loudly. By using this resource, Pennsylvania base-building organizations will communicate and organize around climate while staying grounded in the stakes of resisting authoritarianism and the cost of living crisis in this country.
The politicians that have rolled back our hard-won climate protections are the very same villains who attempt to consolidate power by stripping away our vote and voice. They make everyday life more expensive and line the pockets of the billionaire bullies who back their agenda. Not every campaign and action must be centered around the climate crisis, but the only way we solve the climate crisis is by building a critical mass of organized Pennsylvanians ready to take action for real solutions. As a coalition, we build the people power necessary to hold our elected leadership accountable. It’s on us to demand our leaders enact solutions that make us all freer to thrive — legislating in the interests of their constituents of all races, zip codes, and genders over wealthy corporations who extract and pollute for the gain of a tiny few.
Our Partners
