News
In the ‘Armpit of the Universe,’ a Window Into the Persistent Inequities of Environmental Policy
Researchers found that the effectiveness of the Clean Air Act is often a function of race and socio-economic factors. In Clairton, Pennsylvania, residents say they see that firsthand.
By Kiley Bense, Victoria St. Martin
Germaine Gooden-Patterson has lived in Clairton, Pennsylvania, for more than 15 years, but it wasn’t until she began a job as a community health worker in 2019 that she understood how much air pollution was affecting her neighbors’ lives—and her own.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy: COP 27
State of Play
The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) produced a groundbreaking agreement to create a “loss and damage” fund to help developing nations cope with the impact of climate change.
But the conference, held from Nov. 6 to Nov. 20, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, fell short of a hoped-for agreement to speed reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.