Environmental Justice

COPAL

Join the fight for Environmental Justice in our communities!

Environmental Justice is the right to a decent, safe quality of life for people of all races, incomes and cultures in the environments where we live, work, play, learn and pray.

COPAL’s vision is to create a powerful Latine environmental justice voice that is living and working in a thriving environment. We ALL deserve a dignified life in a thriving environment, and a relationship grounded in reciprocity with nature.

Together, we are building leadership and the possibility for a better present and future. Our work addresses the root causes of forced migration due to climate change and extractive economies, green jobs, pollution reduction and an equitable transition to clean energy.

Our top 3 goals

Goal #1:

Base Building

Strengthen the power and influence of BIPOC communities in Minnesota.

Goal #2:

Structural change at the policy level

Organize a collective movement to civically engage communities.

Goal #3:

Shift the public narrative

Center impacted voices and elevate our stories.

COPAL

Our Four Core Issues

The extractive fossil fuel economy, encompassing natural gas, petroleum, and coal used for heat, electricity, and transportation, not only alters our climate but also leaves a legacy of injustice in our homelands and communities today. Indigenous lands are mined, water is polluted, and refineries along with coal/gas plants contaminate our neighborhoods. Toxic fertilizers and pesticides affect farmworkers, and high energy bills for heating homes impact our economic security. COPAL is dedicated to advocating for a transition from fossil fuels to a renewable energy economy that benefits our communities.

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Our communities and homelands stand at the forefront of a shifting climate. Alterations in weather patterns directly impact land-based livelihoods, access to clean drinking water, and the capacity to thrive in a stable political and economic environment. As the climate crisis intensifies, individuals are compelled to migrate because of natural disasters. COPAL endeavors to spotlight the narratives and necessities of climate-induced migration within our communities.

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Fostering sustainable employment opportunities that safeguard worker health and have a positive environmental impact is essential for enhancing Minnesota’s economy and long-term viability. COPAL’s Worker Center is dedicated to placing and training individuals in green jobs, aiming to contribute to the construction of a more sustainable future.

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Fossil fuel and toxic industries tend to concentrate in low-income and communities of color, resulting in a generational legacy of health crises within our communities. This concentration isn’t incidental; rather, it is a deliberate outcome of policies that permit the siting of polluting industries, fostering environmental injustice. COPAL is actively engaged in reshaping these policies to diminish this cumulative harm and restore health to our communities.

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LISTEN TO RADIO JORNALERA

Tune in to ˘Qué Onda, Minnesota? / What’s up, Minnesota?, our weekly environmental justice radio show Thursdays at 5pm on Radio Jornalera!