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Health Oct 12, 2024
| Image courtesy of the LA County Public Health Department
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A new five-year plan addresses Los Angeles County’s historic and contemporary policies that have exposed vulnerable populations to environmental and health hazards, the Department of Public Health announced Thursday.
The Strategic Plan for the Office of Environmental Justice and Climate Health aims to enhance the department’s ability to prevent and mitigate environmental and climate health impacts. The OEJCH will provide officials with data, health and policy recommendations and mitigation plans.
Officials highlighted these aspects of the plan:
- “Community Engagement and Partnerships: Foster community relationships to ensure two-way communication and develop community solutions.
- “Interagency Coordination and Government Engagement: Cultivate collaboration between public, private, and community partners to develop solutions to environmental and climate health threats.
- “Policy: Track, inform, and develop impactful environmental justice and climate health policies.
- “Data: Collect, interpret, and share accessible actionable environmental justice and climate health data with partners and the public to highlight emerging issues and actively inform policies and programs.
- “Accountability and Communications: Develop and foster direct and transparent communications to keep the community and partners informed of the roles, responsibilities, and progress of OEJCH.
“For too long our approach to pollution, climate risks, and toxic contamination was reactive, responding after the damage to some of our most vulnerable communities had already reached a crisis level,” 4th District LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement. “With the Office of Environmental Justice and Climate Health we’re baking environmental justice into our work Countywide and proactively putting the health of those communities front and center.”
District 1 Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said climate environmental equity issues have reached crisis-level.
“Climate change and environmental injustice are urgent public health crises. The rapid increase in extreme heat, air pollution, and hazardous waste disproportionately affects our most vulnerable communities,” Solis said in a statement. “Addressing these issues is crucial for protecting public health and ensuring equitable access to clean environments for all. By adopting this strategic plan, we are prioritizing sustainable practices and stronger regulations, prioritizing the health of marginalized communities. Our collective future depends on the actions we take today to safeguard both human health and our planet.”
In April 2022, the LA County Board of Supervisors created the OEJCH, which was known as the Toxicology and Environmental Assessment Branch. The revamped unit will incorporate TEA’s response work while increasing Public Health’s prevention initiatives and capabilities, officials said.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the new five-year plan “paves a road for Los Angeles County to serve and protect our communities from the hazards of environmental injustice and climate change. By addressing disparities and building climate resilience for all communities, Los Angeles County is poised to become a national leader in environmental justice and climate health. Public Health is committed to advancing equity and justice for all Los Angeles County’s people, ensuring that everyone can live a healthy and fulfilling life free of environmental toxins and disproportionate impacts of climate change.”
The plan’s release coincides with the county’ continued experience with the impacts of climate change — extreme heat, severe storms and more frequent wildfires, officials said. The plan involves partnering with communities and governments to reduce pollution and climate risks via proactive emergency response and prevention efforts.
The five-year plan is available on the OEJCH website.
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