In 2019, the City of Ithaca’s Common Council unanimously adopted the Ithaca Green New Deal (IGND) resolution, committing to community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.
The IGND also includes goals to use one hundred percent renewable electricity to meet the needs of the city government by 2025, reduce the emissions of the city fleet by fifty percent, and facilitate comprehensive public engagement. Climate change has a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color, which is a concern of many climate activists. Justice50, a proposal to the city government, advocated for by the youth-led climate justice organization Sunrise Ithaca, aims to promote climate justice by ensuring the benefits of the IGND are shared among all communities to reduce inequities. As an adaptation of the federal Justice40 program that attributes forty percent of overall benefits from certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities overburdened by the effects of pollution, Justice50 aims to allocate fifty percent of overall climate and clean energy investments under the IGND to Climate Justice communities.
To ensure that funding is given to those who need it the most, Justice50 seeks to determine eligibility based on household-level criteria. The City of Ithaca’s Common Council defines a “climate justice household” as one where residents meet at least three of the following criteria: residents are experiencing homelessness, residents or their children are eligible for needs-based local, state, or federal financial assistance, residents twenty-five years of age or older do not possess a high school diploma or GED, residents experience food insecurity or low child nutrition levels, residents make less than sixty-five percent of the County’s median annual income, residents spend more than fifteen percent of their total income on household energy costs, or residents are undocumented immigrants currently working in Tompkins County. The City of Ithaca also acknowledges the New York State definition of a climate justice community: a set of forty-five indicators based on environmental burdens, potential climate change risks, pollution exposure, income, race and ethnicity, health outcomes, housing mobility, and access to resources. The New York criteria identify thirty-five percent of the state as disadvantaged communities. If a community meets those criteria, it will also be identified as such in Ithaca. According to the City of Ithaca’s Director of Sustainability, Rebecca Evans, if over fifty percent of a neighborhood identifies as a climate justice household, it will be defined as a climate justice community.
The investments allocated by Justice50 would be used to create infrastructure and opportunities for members of climate justice communities, such as clean energy, building electrification, access to electrical vehicle chargers, green jobs, and resources that are necessary to adapt to and deal with the effects of climate change. Justice50 also seeks to establish participatory budgeting that would allow Ithaca residents to make direct decisions on how government money is allocated. Advocates for the proposal have even considered allowing all community members above the age of sixteen to vote regardless of citizenship status to ensure that decisions will benefit as many people as possible.
The leader of Sunrise Ithaca, Ace Dufresne ’26, is a major advocate for the implementation of Justice50. He hopes that Ithaca can lead by example and believes that the successful implementation of the IGND and Justice50 can demonstrate the effectiveness of local climate justice policy. “We are a privileged city, so we have a duty to do something about climate change. I hope we inspire people with the good things we can do,” Dufresne explained, referencing participatory budgeting, investing in disadvantaged communities, and reducing inequalities.
Dufresne also highlighted the intersectionality of Justice50, stating “It does more than combat climate change. It affects issues like housing and income inequality.” He also encourages youth to become more involved, describing how “there is work happening around equity, but it is not going to happen if you do not push for it.” He stresses the importance of using your voice and staying informed, highlighting the Sunrise movement’s role in political advocacy, educating people, receiving feedback, and pressuring leaders to enact climate policy. Dufresne believes in the power of youth to create change, declaring, “If you have ideas, the motivation, and your own issues that you care about, make them a thing, and lead them.” As of early March, Justice50 is waiting to be passed by either the Common Council or the new City Manager.