This week, Governor Wes Moore signed a landmark executive order aimed at protecting us from climate change while promoting an inclusive economy. The order directs all agencies to develop solutions and consider Justice40 goals, efforts, and funding to comprehensively advance environmental justice.
Yet while many policymakers and practitioners recognize the role that race and place play in determining who is overburdened or underserved, Maryland’s 719,000 residents with disabilities, including 350,000 of working age, are often overlooked.
Climate change poses unique challenges for people with disabilities, exacerbating existing inequalities and creating new risks. Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, floods, storms and air pollution can be life-threatening for people with disabilities who have mobility issues, rely on electrical medical devices or require special transport or housing. Furthermore, disaster response and recovery efforts often lack the necessary equipment, making people with disabilities more vulnerable during and after these disasters.
All Marylanders, regardless of ability, can benefit from and contribute to our state’s important climate action, including people from diverse backgrounds.
People who live near coal or other industrial plants, or in buildings with lead paint or lead water, are at higher risk for disability. Often, due to historical marginalization, these people are people of color. Poverty causes disability, and disability can lead to more poverty. For example, of Maryland’s 227,000 African-Americans with disabilities, only 28.3% (64,000) are employed and 27.3% live in poverty, compared to 11.1% of African-Americans without disabilities. Of the state’s 50,000 Latinos with disabilities, only 37.4% (19,000) are employed and 17.1% live in poverty, compared to 12.2% of Latinos without disabilities.
Early in his campaign, Governor Moore laid out bold goals to ensure that Maryland leaves no one behind, including people with disabilities, but achieving these goals is easier said than done.
Marylanders with disabilities often face significant barriers that prevent them from being part of the climate change solution, including:
Lack of Accessible Infrastructure and Marketing: Many public and community spaces and outreach activities, including those used for climate action, are not fully accessible. This limits individuals’ ability to participate in community-led environmental activities and public hearings. Emergency Information Accessibility: Climate information and emergency alerts are often not delivered in accessible formats, such as text-to-speech or closed captions, Braille, sign language, or plain language. This makes it difficult for people with disabilities to get the information and take necessary precautions and actions. Clean Energy Transition and Full Participation: Lack of accessibility means that many Marylanders with disabilities cannot access information about heat pumps, insulation, sustainable foods, and other important components of decarbonization.
As the only member of the Maryland Climate Change Commission who publicly identifies as a member of the disability community, I offer the following recommendations to help the climate change movement benefit from the talents and perspectives of people with disabilities.
Collaborate with people with disabilities: Include people with disabilities and community advocates in decision-making processes, regardless of whether they have a visible disability. Invite them to join teams/working groups. Their experiences provide important insights into effective climate action. Aim to answer the following questions in the affirmative: We serve people with disabilities. We employ people with disabilities. People who publicly identify as disabled work on our team. Personal accommodation requests: Establish a process whereby people with disabilities can privately request accommodations they need to be successful in their roles. Training for inclusion: Train key personnel on how to welcome and respect people with disabilities equally. Accessible digital content: Set up your website for screen readers to ensure that web-based materials are accessible to people with visual impairments. Ensure that all video content, including Zoom meetings, has captions for the hearing impaired. Use simple text that people with learning disabilities can understand. Use inclusive design: Enable participation without requiring disclosure of disability. For example, provide captioning on screens at all public events and in hearing rooms at state capitals so that people who are deaf, have learning disabilities, or are learning English can fully participate without making special arrangements. Event Accessibility: Hold events in physically accessible spaces with parking and transportation options. Public events should allow people with disabilities to request accommodations such as sign language interpretation, captioning, and dietary accommodations on the registration form. Additionally, provide sensory-friendly areas and ensure emergency/evacuation plans take disabilities into account. Dedicated Accessibility Role: Establish a disability advisory committee or inclusion/diversity committee and assign someone to oversee these efforts. Accessible Offices: Make your offices accessible to people with physical disabilities. Virtual Participation: Increase accessibility for people who cannot be physically present by allowing people to work and/or participate virtually/online.
Implementing these recommendations will ensure Maryland’s climate policy is inclusive and equitable and reflects our commitment to protecting all residents. Addressing the needs of Maryland’s residents with disabilities is not just a legal obligation, it will strengthen our communities and make them more resilient.