Tony Reames, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Environment and Sustainability, just returned to campus from two years at the U.S. Department of Energy working on energy justice.

The Tishman professor of environmental justice and director of the SEAS Detroit Sustainability Clinic joined us on the Michigan Minds Podcast to share his thoughts on how energy justice could manifest in the United States.

His research focuses on disparities in residential energy generation, consumption and affordability—centering on the production and persistence of inequality by race, class and place.

You just returned home from more than two years at the U.S. Department of Energy working on energy justice. What is energy justice and how is it manifesting in the United States?

Energy justice is this concept that really looks at how do communities participate in both the health environment and social impacts of our energy system, recognizing that the energy system has had certain burdens on communities.

And so environmental justice is really saying that all communities, regardless of race and income and geography, should be afforded a clean environment. And that the goal of addressing injustices gets us toward making sure that that’s true. Climate justice also recognizes that communities of color, low-income communities are feeling the climate crisis first and worst, and that any action to address climate change should include those communities and their burdens.

A lot of the issues that the environmental justice movement and research has tried to address is related to our energy system. A lot of the things we’re trying to prevent from a climate crisis are related to our energy system. And so energy justice allows us to isolate the energy system and understand the injustices, but also bridge the gap between environmental and climate injustices.

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