The transformative climate change solutions we seek may come from unlikely places and sources. This is especially true when we intentionally center justice in our climate action. As we work to address climate change, we all win when we cross-pollinate and amplify the voices who bring a different lived experience to conversations like renewable energy.

So what, then, might someone raised on a tiny African island have to contribute to U.S. energy, climate innovation, and climate justice?

Origins of Extraction

Twenty-two years before Columbus left Europe to the “new” world, an uninhabited, six-square-mile island was spotted by a Spaniard off the west coast of Africa. Soon after, its first human inhabitants arrived on a Portuguese ship — a group of enslaved people taken from Angola.

And so it came to be that the first economy of the island of my childhood, Annobon, was the buying and selling of human beings.

A People Shaped by Ingenuity and Interconnection with Nature

Extraction has long been a theme for the island. For 300 years, Annobon was a stopover point on the Transatlantic Slave Trade Route. It was passed back and forth between European colonial powers — the Portuguese, British, and Spanish. When the colonizers finally left, the African slaves who remained became the Annobonese and Annobon eventually became a part of the nation of Equatorial Guinea.

Isolation shaped our nature to be deeply resourceful, resilient, self-autonomous, and creative beach people. As kids, our playground was the beach. Our sports were pickup soccer games with a ball made of plantain tree bark.

The main village on Annobon is nestled in a small area between the coastline and the foot of Quioveo Peak, the only flat part of the volcanic island. At 300 miles off the African continent, the island’s fragile ecology shaped my people’s way of life. The cultural calendar was intimately tied to ecological rhythms such as lunar cycles, storm, and rain patterns. The smallest changes in weather patterns deeply impacted our way of life.

The Promises of Fossil Fuel Extraction

When I began high school, oil was discovered in nearby waters. The discovery was pitched by the distant Equatorial Guinea government and the oil companies as “manna from heaven.” They said that the industry would benefit us and bring economic development and community wealth.

With the promise of prosperity on the horizon, my elders were convinced that this was the way of the future. I was strongly encouraged to go study petroleum engineering in the U.S. and join the front lines of the new national petro-economy. And so I left.

The Realities of Fossil Fuel Extraction

Meanwhile, Annobon began to experience extreme weather events due to the effects of climate change. The Atlantic Ocean began to continuously inundate the village, and folks faced the costly task of uprooting and moving to the foothills of Quioveo Peak for safety. We experienced acid rain for the first time, contaminating our only fresh water source. More frequent droughts triggered food insecurity.

All the while, the oil companies continued drilling off the coast. After years of hydrocarbon exploration, we began to see the devastating effects it had on our wildlife habitats, ecology, and the land. Years of erosion left our seafloor and beaches unstable and our island prone to landslides.

As a people whose lives were so interwoven with its ecology, these changes threatened the equilibrium we had depended on for centuries. Finally, one day I learned that an exploration off the coast triggered a landslide, taking with it the ridge where my grandparents and generations of our community members were buried.

Seeking a Better Way

As I completed my engineering studies, in the quiet of my consciousness all I could hear was the haunting cry of my native island sinking. I knew I had to be a part of the alternative.

So after graduating college, I dove deeper into the intricacies of emerging energy technologies with a specific focus on renewables. I was shocked to learn that in the U.S., almost 90% of the electricity that came from the electric grid originated from unsustainable sources, including coal and gas. It didn’t take long to also realize that the dynamics affecting my community were not unique to Annobon.

Here in the U.S., I grew curious about the relationship between carbon-based extraction industries and their impact on communities, especially communities of color. During my research, I noticed an all too familiar pattern.

Carbon-based energy companies would come into communities and offer local government and policymakers jobs, prosperity, and wealth for their communities. In reality, distant stakeholders benefited most. With power in the hands of the industry, local communities were often left to deal with the worst effects of the industries presence. Time and time again, I could see this happening.

A Problem in the United States

Just like in Annobon, across the U.S. it was poor, and often Black, Indigenous, and Brown communities who disproportionately suffered from the negative effects of these carbon-based energy industries. From Pennsylvania to Louisiana and throughout the Rust Belt, the operation of these industries left these disinvested communities in distress.

I could see how without urgent and intentional prioritization to combat these effects, the era of climate change would exponentially compound this reality.

Carbon-Based Energy Is Killing Black Americans

Carbon-based energy production facilities are shown to shorten the life expectancy of people living in the surrounding areas. And it is African-Americans who are 75% more likely than other Americans to live in “fence-line communities,” the areas near facilities that produce hazardous waste. Such is the case in Philadelphia, where a 150-year-old carbon-based energy facility sits within Grays Ferry, a predominantly Black community.

Black Americans are subjected to 1.5 times as much sooty air pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels as compared to white Americans. This dirty air is associated with lung disease, including asthma, as well as heart disease, premature death, and recently, the most negative effects of COVID-19.

Even when they are closed, these energy plants can cause just as much harm as when they are in operation. Abandoned and untreated, they can leak oil and gas into the water and soil, and release climate-warming methane into the atmosphere.

Fossil Fuel Infrastructure and Climate Change

Some communities in the U.S. are not only facing the aftereffects of fossil fuel infrastructure development but also the impacts of rising sea levels due to climate change.

In Louisiana, 80 miles southwest of New Orleans, the Isle de Jean Charles has suffered 98% land loss since 1955. The island has been destroyed by land erosion fueled by a mix of climate change and land subsidence accelerated by the fossil fuel industry pipelines. The residents, most of whom belong to the Isle de Jean Charles Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe, are grappling with the painful reality of tribal relocation as a result of our collective dependence on a carbon-based energy system.

From Annobon to Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and across the U.S., residents have weathered historic exploitation, exclusion, and disinvestment. Our resourcefulness and self-determination are a shared bedrock of our identity, but at what expense? We intimately know what it is to have resources extracted from our communities, the benefits of which ceased to be shared equitably, and the detrimental ecological consequences left for us to bear alone.

How to Center Climate Action in Climate Justice

The effects of climate change can impact anyone’s daily life and are experienced in countless ways. But the impacts of climate change are not equal, nor are they distributed equally.

As we’ve seen, carbon-based energy generation and climate change often disproportionately affect historically marginalized and underserved communities. That’s why, as we work to find alternatives to our CO2-emitting industries and combat climate change, we need to center justice in our efforts.

To better equip businesses on their journey, B Lab recently released a resource, The Climate Justice Playbook for Businesses: How To Centre Climate Action in Climate Justice. This tool is designed for businesses to understand the “intersection of climate action and social justice, and advance a justice-centered approach to sustainability efforts in their own work.” It also lays out some of the biggest obstacles businesses face along this journey and advice on how to navigate them.

As Dr. Ellonda Williams, Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) at B Lab says: “Putting people and justice at the center of business efforts to address the climate emergency will be no easy feat, but it must be done. … We have to work collaboratively to create the sustainable and just future we want; not in siloes, and not through the paternalistic, colonialist, and saviorist methodologies that got us here.”

Climate Justice and the Renewable Energy Sector

The renewable energy sector is similar to the large climate and environmental nonprofits who are largely white. Absent are the people and their experiences who have been deeply harmed by the extraction of energy resources.

Likewise, Silicon Valley’s renewable energy technologies rarely represent the point of view and priorities of historically disinvested communities. Rare is the renewable energy company that centers justice and equity in its business model and approach, and little funding has gone to businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, or People of Color that do.

Investing in Black-Owned Businesses

Equally as important as addressing climate justice in climate action is supporting minority-owned businesses that are working to create solutions that combat climate change. Racial disparities in access to capital keep Black-owned businesses from reaching their full potential.

As President and CEO of CapE2 Tynesia Boyea-Robinson explains, “Fueling Black business growth is broader than just providing capital. It will require leaders in financial institutions, philanthropy, government, corporations, and investors to align and collaborate toward a clear set of goals that address systemic barriers. From supportive policy to representative leadership, it is critical that we work together to build the economy that reflects America’s promise.”

Moving Into a New Energy Paradigm

Ultimately, I chose to pursue work that weaves together all of these areas: providing renewable energy, centering those most impacted by climate change, and building creative solutions to support the U.S. energy transition.

For over 100 years, we’ve enjoyed the benefits of our carbon-based economy and an electric grid that has delivered reliably. But our past is not a guarantee of our future. As we’ve seen, our current energy reality is not sustainable. It has revealed itself to be harmful for our planet and our people. It’s time to reimagine this outdated energy system.

Renewable Energy Solutions

After years of research and involvement in climate action, my career in renewable energy has led me to the creation of my startup company, Quioveo Energy. Named after Quioveo Peak on Annobon, Quioveo is a climate tech social enterprise based in Philadelphia. Our mission is to catalyze the actual use of sustainable renewables by the U.S. electric grid and support historically disinvested communities to own and benefit from future renewable energy projects.

We are building technologies designed to increase the amount of renewables going to the electric grid while enabling communities most impacted and disinvested to have greater access, equity, and autonomy in their partnership with energy.

Our first product, Illuminator, is an AI-Driven geospatial climate intelligence platform. Simply put, Illuminator is a learning-driven and energy-focused application that will allow people, organizations, policy makers, and government officials to better understand the inefficiencies and possibilities of the U.S. electric grid, and aid in informing decisions and policies.

We are guided by a strong commitment to always balance purpose and profits. Central to that, is maintaining that our communities benefit from our company, which is why we launched our crowdfunding campaign to empower anyone with as little as $100 to invest and become part owner of Quioveo.

The Role You Play in Climate Action

What does someone raised on a tiny African island have to contribute to U.S. energy, climate innovation, and climate justice? As we’ve seen, I have a unique perspective from my lived experience. I have a passion for energy and am in a position as a trained engineer, entrepreneur, and U.S. citizen to work alongside others to make a vision for a new energy paradigm a reality.

But this isn’t just about me or the communities mentioned. It’s also about you. You have your own unique role to play in climate action based on your lived experience, your position and your activism for climate change and justice.

In your pursuit of centering justice in climate action, check in with yourself and the work that you’re doing and ask these questions:

• What is one thing that you can do to support climate justice from where you sit?
• Are you supporting organizations on the frontlines of climate justice work?
• Are you amplifying the stories and voices of those most impacted?
• Are you centering justice in your climate work in your business?

Remember that the energy systems we have today are the result of our past decisions. The energy systems we have tomorrow will be the result of decisions we make today. Take a first step knowing that each of us, as a part of humanity, is on this journey and this planet together.

B The Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.