Residents can help shape the future of environmental justice in North Carolina during the Governor’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council‘s public meetings scheduled for this month.
The mapping and public engagement subcommittees are hosting the meetings that will cover the newly created NC Environmental Justice Tool. The interactive map displays information about environmental justice issues related to climate demographic, transpiration, health data and more.
Sponsor Spotlight
Virtual options are set for 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13, 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Aug. 20, and 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27.
In-person forums, all from 5-7 p.m., are scheduled for Aug. 15 at Asheville A-B Tech Community College, Aug. 22 at Warrenton Armory Civic Center, and Aug. 29 at Clinton Sampson Center.
Gov. Roy Cooper signed executive order 292 in October 2023 to rename the Secretary of Environmental Quality’s Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board to the Governor’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council. The executive order calls on state agencies to develop and track goals to improve environmental justice in North Carolina. This executive order builds on executive order 246 issued in January 2022.
“The cause of environmental justice began in North Carolina more than forty years ago and this effort will help our state take this challenge head on,” Cooper said in October. “This Executive Order directs a whole of government approach that listens to communities that are suffering from pollution and the effects of climate change, and takes action to help them become safer, healthier and more sustainable environments.”