Environmental Health —
LGBTQ+ Community and Climate Change Everyone’s lives will be impacted by climate change. But what about the people and communities already disproportionately experiencing the effects of inequitable systems? Those who contribute the least to climate change are suffering its greatest impacts. Both nationally and globally people of Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and the poor, will experience an unduly high level of some of the most damaging and dramatic effects of climate change.1 Less discussed when assessing the impact of the climate crisis, however, is the LGBTQ+ community. They are disproportionately more vulnerable to the harmful impacts of a warming planet. They are more likely to be living on lower incomes, to experience homelessness, and have limited access to health care.2 BIPOC members of the LBGTQ+ community face multiple overlapping structure disadvantages. People on lower incomes have fewer financial alternatives with less access to capital. They face increased risk under the same set of circumstances as those with more privilege. The LGBTQ+ community in particular tends to face financial challenges that stem from discrimination and intolerance. Unemployment puts LGBTQ+ populations at greater risk of poverty and homelessness, making them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Trans folks also can face barriers and discrimination in the healthcare system: one in four transgender people report
having avoided medical care out of fear of being disrespected or mistreated. Their socioeconomic status increases exposure to the effects of climate change because they tend to live in areas with higher levels of air pollution and aren’t able to seek medical care for the secondary health impacts. Forty percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+. Those who are without a safe place to live are more exposed to extreme weather events that are more common due to climate change. As we adapt to
By Anna Johnson and Mike Menzel, MD MetroDoctors
The Journal of the Twin Cities Medical Society
a changing climate, we need to address equitable solutions to those more affected by climate change. References: 1. IPCC, Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, Chapter 14, p841, March 2014. 2. UCLA School of Law, Homelessness Among LGBTQ Adults in the US, May 2020.
Anna Johnson, Policy and Public Affairs, Fresh Energy, and Mike Menzel, MD, TCMS Environmental Health Task Force.
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