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Hit hard by climate change, Asians and Pacific Islanders grapple with solutions

October 21, 2023

Climate change is “an urgent issue” for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, these advocates say. Along with the planet, it affects areas of public policy, the economy, health and immigration.

The AAPI Victory Alliance hosted its inaugural “Climate Justice Convening” this week in Koreatown. From Oct. 18 to 20, community leaders, climate experts and environmentalists came together at The Line Hotel LA to discuss the extreme effects of climate change and finding equitable solutions.

Although climate change “often disproportionately impacts communities of color, these communities are often left out of the conversations on solutions,” conference organizers said in a release.

The fall event followed ongoing and recent natural disasters and climate-related events, including the wildfires in Maui in August. Attendees discussed growing concerns including rising sea levels, cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean, flooding in the Marshall Islands, and thousands of Pacific Islander communities being displaced.

Nile Bunger speaks as moderator Jennifer Chau listens during the session titled “Justice for Whom: Uplifting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Voices and Perspectives” on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The AAPI Victory Alliance hosted its first ever Climate Justice Conference in Koreatown on Oct. 18-20, bringing together community leaders, climate experts and allies to address climate justice and equity, with an emphasis on Native Hawaiian and Paciifc Islanders. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Part of the audience listens as Nile Bunger speaks during the session titled “Justice for Whom: Uplifting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Voices and Perspectives” on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The AAPI Victory Alliance hosted its first ever Climate Justice Conference in Koreatown on Oct. 18-20, bringing together community leaders, climate experts and allies to address climate justice and equity, with an emphasis on Native Hawaiian and Paciifc Islanders. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A photographer takes pictures during the session titled “Justice for Whom: Uplifting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Voices and Perspectives” on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. The AAPI Victory Alliance hosted its first ever Climate Justice Conference in Koreatown on Oct. 18-20, bringing together community leaders, climate experts and allies to address climate justice and equity, with an emphasis on Native Hawaiian and Paciifc Islanders. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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With climate justice a top priority for the AAPI Victory Alliance, organizers hoped the event, which intentionally centered Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders’ voices and concerns, would “most importantly (be) heard by those in power,” a release said.

In a statement, AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore said that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders “have long been sounding the alarm about climate change — particularly because they will be disproportionately affected. Their livelihoods will be the first ones to be fully disrupted.”

“Climate change is the challenge of our decade. We need to amplify and uplift AANHPI narratives, as well as the voices of communities of color, who will disproportionately bear the brunt of climate change,” Nikore said. “We must also be clear-eyed that corporations are the ones marching us towards a climate crisis, and that is why convenings like this to consolidate people power are so important.”

In a Thursday, Oct. 19 session, Nile Bunger, the climate justice director with the Arizona AANHPI For Equity coalition, discussed the ways in which climate change and natural disasters are forcing many Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups to lose their land and livelihood.

Bunger said the intersection of climate and racial injustice “go hand in hand” — affecting “all connected” things from global food concerns to the ocean’s biodiversity.

The climate crisis “is something that is a ‘now’ issue, impacting us currently. Climate change doesn’t wait for anybody,” she said later. “You can’t talk about truly solving and fighting climate crises — in the Pacific Islands, Africa, or parts of Asia; where detrimental climate concerns are happening — without mentioning racial injustice and how these communities are directly impacted.”

Bunger talked about climate refugees who, when displaced from their homes, are also forced to leave their culture and identity behind. There are other losses of language, important cultural practices, and even spirituality that can be affected, she said.

Centering AAPI and NHPI voices is critical, Bunger added, because they are “the experts” in their communities. Giving people the multilingual resources they need, inviting them into environmental justice spaces, and amplifying their work in fighting climate change are all crucial.

Bunger encouraged folks to “get uncomfortable with being uncomfortable talking about climate…. we need to start thinking about our climate crisis not as a political issue, but a human issue.”

For more information on the AAPI Victory Alliance’s climate justice initiatives, visit aapivictoryalliance.com/climatejustice.

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Hit hard by climate change, Asians and Pacific Islanders grapple with solutions

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