TY - JOUR
T1 - Mass incarceration as a climate justice issue
AU - LeMasters, Katherine
AU - Brinkley-Rubinstein, Lauren
AU - Ciplet, David
AU - Cloud, David
AU - Cowan, Kristen
AU - Eisenman, William
AU - Haber, Lawrence
AU - Macht, Allison
AU - Reid, Colleen E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
PY - 2026/4
Y1 - 2026/4
N2 - The climate crisis and mass incarceration are deeply intertwined. While climate change has intensified worldwide, incarcerated populations are disproportionately at risk of experiencing poor health related to climate change through multiple hazards including extreme heat, hurricanes, and wildfires. We detail how incarcerated individuals are at a heightened risk of experiencing multiple climate-related events, how climate change worsens the health of incarcerated individuals, and how carceral infrastructure and policies worsen these impacts. We then propose next steps including (1) further research to assess the full scope of climate-related health risks, (2) strong collaborations between researchers, policymakers, and community advocates, and (3) implementation of evidence-based policies that prioritize the well-being of incarcerated populations that span climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and decarceration measures.
AB - The climate crisis and mass incarceration are deeply intertwined. While climate change has intensified worldwide, incarcerated populations are disproportionately at risk of experiencing poor health related to climate change through multiple hazards including extreme heat, hurricanes, and wildfires. We detail how incarcerated individuals are at a heightened risk of experiencing multiple climate-related events, how climate change worsens the health of incarcerated individuals, and how carceral infrastructure and policies worsen these impacts. We then propose next steps including (1) further research to assess the full scope of climate-related health risks, (2) strong collaborations between researchers, policymakers, and community advocates, and (3) implementation of evidence-based policies that prioritize the well-being of incarcerated populations that span climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and decarceration measures.
KW - climate crisis
KW - extreme heat
KW - hurricane
KW - mass incarceration
KW - wildfire
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105037770450
U2 - 10.1088/1748-9326/ae5f35
DO - 10.1088/1748-9326/ae5f35
M3 - Letter
AN - SCOPUS:105037770450
SN - 1748-9326
VL - 21
JO - Environmental Research Letters
JF - Environmental Research Letters
IS - 8
ER -