Environment and Climate

The California Reparations Task Force, established in 2020 under Assembly Bill 3121, examined the historical and present-day impacts of slavery and racial discrimination on African Americans in California, making recommendations for remedies and educating the public.

Following California Governor Gavin Newsom's 2019 apology for genocide and historical injustices against Native populations, the State established the California Truth and Healing Council (THC) to create a holistic understanding of the historical relationship between California Native Americans and the State and make recommendations aimed at reparation and restoration.

California has long been a leader in launching groundbreaking initiatives to combat the climate crisis. But the climate crisis is also a crisis of inequity, hitting communities of color and low-income communities first and worst and exacerbating health and wealth inequities.

As state and federal policymakers work to address climate change through climate investments that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and build resilience—for instance, clean transportation, solar panels, urban greening, transit-oriented housing development—it is critical that investments are geared to support the communities that have been historically marginalized and left behind.

California has enacted laws specifically intended to protect Tribal cultural resources and Tribal traditional cultural sites. But are these laws working?

This project will analyze public input from two statewide reparations processes for Black and Native Californians and create additional participatory research to define reparations with Black, Native, Asian, and Latinx owners of land-based businesses, advocates, and California State staff, engaging them in analyzing climate and agricultural programs for racial disparities.

Senate Bill 535 and Assembly Bill 1550, combined, require the state to dedicate a minimum of 35 percent of revenues raised through Cap-and-Trade to communities that are environmentally overburdened and socially vulnerable. This was an explicit effort to promote health, economic, and racial equity in California's climate policy strategy. This project will research and evaluate the implementation of the $12.6 billion California Climate Investment program (SB 535 and AB 1550) in creating solutions that promote health, economic, and racial equity in environmentally disadvantaged communities.

This study will examine the extent to which health and wellness outcomes for tribal citizens are tied to state policies requiring state and local agencies to engage in government-to-government consultation with tribes when carrying out environmental decision-making activities impacting tribal cultural resources.