Climate change keeps hitting Black and low-income neighborhoods the hardest, with extreme heat, flooding, and pollution. Yet a new study published in PLOS Climate finds that “climate justice,” one of the movement’s favorite phrases, isn’t connecting with the very people it’s meant to reach. Just 36% of respondents were familiar with the term. The findings hand advocates a tough question: if communities feel the danger but miss the language, does the message need to change?
