About
Who We Are
The Climate Action Plan (CAP) Justice Coalition is a group of organizations and residents in Southwestern Pennsylvania advocating for climate justice.
In 2024, dozens of organizations participated in our planning and advocacy. Over 450 individuals have participated in meetings or taken action by signing petitions or letters.
Our Mission
The Climate Action Plan Justice Coalition advocates for environmentally just, transparent, accountable, collaborative climate action planning that includes and empowers vulnerable communities while effectively mitigating and adapting to the harmful impacts of climate change and systemic oppression.
Our Goals
Advocating for a just and equitable Climate Action Plan (CAP)
The coalition is working to ensure that the Allegheny County CAP is inclusive, equitable, and reflects the needs of communities most impacted by climate change.
Promoting Transparency and Accountability
The coalition advocates for transparency and accountability in the CAP process, pushing for legislation that promotes these values.
Challenging the Narrowed Scope of the County CAP
The coalition is actively working to broaden the scope of the County CAP, arguing that limiting the scope restricts its effectiveness in supporting climate harm mitigation, adaptation, community resilience, and environmental justice initiatives.
Building Relationships with County Council Members
The coalition seeks to build relationships with County Council members to gain support for their advocacy efforts.
Expanding Outreach and Coalition Building
The coalition is focused on expanding its reach to include more organizations and residents from diverse communities, especially those outside the City of Pittsburgh.
Research and Public Education
The coalition is committed to conducting research and educating the public about the role of regional planning organizations, like the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), and how these organizations impact climate planning.
Developing a Community Vision for the Allegheny County CAP
The coalition seeks to establish a community vision for the Allegheny County CAP, reflecting what residents want to see in the plan.
Increasing Media Attention
The coalition has achieved increased media coverage, using it to raise awareness about their work.
Creation of a Climate Action Plan Community Task Force
The coalition has gathered over 350 signatures on a petition demanding the establishment of a Climate Action Plan Community Task Force to ensure inclusivity and equity in the CAP.
Our Strategies and Tactics
Direct Advocacy
The coalition has engaged in direct advocacy efforts such as meeting with county officials and presenting at public hearings.
Public Awareness Campaigns
The coalition utilizes various platforms to raise awareness about the need for climate justice, including media outreach, petitions, and social media.
Coalition Building
The coalition is focused on expanding its membership and collaborating with other organizations to broaden its base of support.
Research and Education
The coalition is committed to researching the climate planning process, relevant organizations, and potential partners and educating the public about these topics.
Community Engagement
The coalition strives to engage the community through various means, including surveys, public forums, and strategy sessions, to gather input and build a shared vision for the CAP.
Nonviolent Direct Action
The coalition supports a diverse range of tactics to express and enact collective will for climate justice, including nonviolent direct actions such as marches, sit-ins, house protests, civil disobedience, etc.
Our History: Where are we at this point
The CAP Justice Coalition formed in January 2024 to advocate for transparent, inclusive, and accountable climate action planning in Southwestern Pennsylvania that centers on climate justice and community resilience. Since its formation, the coalition has been actively involved in shaping the Allegheny County Climate Action Plan by:
Advocating for a Full County Council Public Hearing on the Allegheny County CAP: This hearing on September 18 provided a platform for the coalition to voice its concerns and priorities, advocating for an inclusive and equitable CAP process.
Launching a Petition for a Community Task Force: The coalition successfully collected over 350 signatures on a petition demanding the establishment of a Climate Action Plan Community Task Force to ensure the plan reflects the needs of communities most impacted by climate change.
Organizing Strategy Sessions and Public Forums: The coalition has hosted multiple strategy sessions and public forums, including one specifically focused on community agreements, to engage residents and organizations in developing a shared vision for the CAP.
Educating the County Council and the public on best CAP practices: The coalition supported the creation of a post-agenda meeting where experts including the creators of the the Erie County CAP were invited to present theirs as an excellent model to follow for the Allegheny County CAP
Engaging with Media Outlets: The coalition has actively engaged with media outlets such as PublicSource [article] to raise awareness about its work and the need for climate justice in the region.
Meeting with County Officials: The coalition has met with County Council members such as Anita Prizio, Bethany Hallam, and Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis to discuss concerns about inclusion, transparency, and accountability in the CAP process and to advocate for legislation that promotes these values.
Developing a Power Map for CAP Work in the County: This power map as a living document to help each other better understand how our County government works and the various powers, allies, and forces that we will need to navigate to advocate for an effective CAP. We invite you to comment on this document with your own knowledge of local governments, corporations, unions, universities, foundations, nonprofits, residents, environmental justice organizations, and other organizations that have the power and motivation to shape, hinder, or support an accountable, effective, inclusive CAP
Developing Climate Action Plan Accountability Priorities and Measures: This document, created together as a coalition is meant to guide the county council on how to focus the CAP accountability measures.
Our Values
Environmental Justice
The coalition centers environmental justice in all of its work, striving to empower communities most impacted by climate change and systemic oppression, understood as the pervasive and deeply embedded patterns of discrimination, inequality, and unfair treatment that disadvantage certain groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, immigration status, age, or other identities. This form of oppression operates through societal structures, institutions, laws, policies, and entrenched practices that produce, condone, and perpetuate widespread unfair treatment and oppression of marginalized groups, whether intended or not. Regional CAPs should help prevent and repair climate change inequities disproportionately borne by groups harmed by centuries of systemic discrimination and environmental racism. Such groups should be empowered as leaders in the planning process to develop solutions that reflect the needs and experience of their communities.
Transparency and Accountability
The coalition believes in open and transparent processes and holds both itself and government officials accountable for their actions.
Collaboration and Inclusivity
The coalition values collaboration and inclusivity, striving to build a diverse and representative coalition that reflects the needs of the broader community.
Climate change mitigation
Regional CAPs should be built on firm foundations of rigorous science, multidisciplinary expertise, and diverse community experience to develop practical, transformative, systemic solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our deeply interconnected ecosystems and communities from further harm.
Adaptation and Resilience
Regional CAPs should help communities prevent and recover from escalating regional climate change impacts such as damaging storms, flooding, landslides, heatwaves, drought, and wildfires, with a special focus on the most vulnerable. When we design for the most vulnerable, we take care of everyone. CAPs should also help end and repair the health impacts of our region’s long legacy of pollution of air, water, and soil; health impacts that are exacerbated by climate change and environmental racism.
Get Involved
Join us in advocating for a just and sustainable future for Southwestern Pennsylvania. You can get involved by:
Signing and giving feedback for our letter for an Inclusive public process for Climate Action Plan
Signing our petition demanding the establishment of a Climate Action Plan Community Task Force.
Contact us and express your participation interests and the skills you can share through this form.
The steering committee meets regularly, with meetings scheduled for different days of the week to allow for wider participation [See the calendar].
The coalition has various committees, including Outreach and Publicity, Power Mapping, Research, Education, and Action and Advocacy. If you want to join any of these committees, please contact us through this form.
Following us on social media and spreading the word.