Insights from a first-of-its-kind database for healthy and just energy transitions.
In the Media
The Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability, in partnership with the School of Public Health, awarded its first-ever Sustainability Research Grant (SRG) for the 2023–2024 academic year to advance the university’s research at the intersection of climate change, sustainability, public health, and equity.
Energy infrastructure surrounds us — about five percent of the US population lives within one mile of an active oil or gas development site. Yet communities are often surprised to learn what types of fossil fuel hazards their neighborhoods are exposed to and how their health may be impacted by air pollution, water contamination, and other environmental exposures. Some bear the biggest burden as environmental justice hotspots that are disproportionately affected.
Power & People Symposium: Mapping Community Exposure to Energy Infrastructure
Launched at the Power & People Symposium in 2024, the Energy Infrastructure Exposure Intensity and Equity Indices (EI3) Database for Public Health offers first-time visibility into who’s exposed to what fossil fuel hazards in the United States — across the full supply chain, all in one place — to help identify community hotspots.
This year-long project led by Boston University researchers introduces novel methods used to develop new data on exposure to energy infrastructure, paving the way to look at the associated health impacts with learnings on:
- Climate and health equity co-benefits of clean energy programs and impacts on vulnerable populations
- US hotspots based on infrastructure siting and impacts on environmental justice communities
- How a new energy epidemiology agenda will address the links between hazards and health outcomes and policies
The database promises to be an actionable public tool that supports community groups, environmental justice organizations, and policymakers while advancing interdisciplinary research towards a healthy and just energy transition.
Learn more about this first-of-its-kind database and the connection between energy systems and health.
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Research Approach and Goals:
This database, in combination with a case study for each of the following three themes, opens new areas of research around energy infrastructure and its relation to environmental justice, climate change, population health, and broader societal concerns for a just energy transition.
The project brings together SPH faculty with a community of BU researchers from across disciplines, including climate and sustainability, public policy and governance, behavioral and cognitive science, and engineering systems.
Research Themes:
Environmental Justice and the Geography of Energy Transitions
Co-Benefits of Energy Programs for Climate and Health Equity
Energy Epidemiology in Persistently Marginalized Communities
Project Leaders
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Jonathan Buonocore
Core Faculty, IGS;
Assistant Professor, Environmental Health, School of Public Health -
Mary Willis
Core Faculty, IGS;
Assistant Professor, Epidemiology, School of Public Health