Lisa Jackson, who was among a group of business leaders who attended COP26, says that 'we can’t have environmental protection unless those communities that are most vulnerable are protected as well.'
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“Back then, there were very vivid examples of pollution. We had rivers on fire; skies that were polluted and you could barely see,” Jackson said. “In New Orleans, we were learning that our drinking water from the Mississippi River was not healthy.” Things got even rockier in 2008 after Obama was sworn in. Broad-scale legislative proposals on ozone pollution and efforts the U.S. can take to reduce carbon emissions rarely received sweeping support during the Obama administration, and in fact were scaled back to tackle low-hanging fruit through the Clean Power Plan, which limited the amount of CO2 emissions from existing power plants.
Taking action on climate policy can not only benefit the health outcomes of underserved communities globally, it can also boost economic growth. If countries were to adopt a low-carbon, sustainable growth path, they could increase economic output upwards of $26 trillion and create over 65 million new jobs by 2030, according to a 2018 report by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate.
iframe.twitter-tweet { width: 100% !important; } MarketWatch: You said you’ve always had a passion to protect the planet since you were a child. How did you understand the importance of the environment at that age? Jackson: On the simplest level, air doesn’t stay in one place and water doesn’t stay in one place. You can pollute the air in one community, but you’re actually polluting the air we all breathe. Climate change is a global problem; it’s not a localized issue. Water pollution that happens far upstream can have a devastating impact on a community far downstream.
Jackson: There’s a system of systemic levers that are not working in the right direction for many communities, and certainly communities of color. When you think about fossil-fuel generation of power, you think about air pollution. There were studies that showed that if you live in a place where it is more polluted, you are going to be more susceptible to impacts from COVID-19.
MarketWatch: Apple also launched its Impact Accelerator Program for Black and Latinx businesses that are in the sustainability space. What was the idea behind that?
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