Senator Kamala Harris is combining efforts with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in hopes of protecting vulnerable communities impacted by climate change. Harris says:

Too many communities in America face systemic environmental injustice—that must end. Today, I’m partnering with @AOC to announce a landmark bill to ensure that a Green New Deal leaves no one behind and lifts up low-income communities, people of color, and indigenous communities.

The New York Times writes:

The new proposal, titled the Climate Equity Act, provides a view of Ms. Harris’s environmental priorities. Under the plan, any environmental regulation or legislation would be rated based on its impact on low-income communities, which are disproportionately affected by climate change because they are often in flood zones, near highways or power plants, or adjacent to polluted lands known as brownfields.

A Green New Deal is more than switching to renewables.

It’s about paying attention to frontline communities: everyday people whose water is poisoned, pensions are robbed, & communities still vulnerable.

That’s why we’re releasing a Climate Equity Plan: https://t.co/QTxqCghF3u

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 29, 2019

In a statement to the NYT, Harris added:

“We cannot accept a status quo where children of color are drinking toxic water in Flint or breathing toxic air in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley… This systemic environmental injustice will only get worse and become more ingrained if climate and environmental policies like the Green New Deal do not specifically focus on lifting up these communities.”