Midwest Climate & Health Equity Hub
A Regional Initiative for Climate Justice and Public Health
A Regional Initative for Climate Justice & Public Health
For more than a decade, the Center for Earth, Energy & Democracy (CEED) has supported environmental justice leadership and community-driven climate solutions. Now, CEED is launching a multi-year initiative to build a Midwest Climate & Health Equity Hub to serve as a regional backbone for climate and health equity work.
What the Hub Does
Initially focused on Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, the Midwest Climate & Health Equity Hub will:
- Strengthen community organizations working at the intersection of climate and health
- Connect leaders across state lines to share strategies and lessons
- Align regional advocacy for climate, health, and energy justice
- Build durable infrastructure that supports long-term environmental justice leadership
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Why Climate & Health Equity in the Midwest
The Midwest faces significant climate and health challenges, including:
- Extreme heat that worsens asthma, heart disease, and heat illness
- Air pollution that drives respiratory and cardiovascular disease
- Flooding that contaminates water systems and displaces families
- High energy burdens that force households to choose between utilities and basic needs
At the same time, the region has strong community leadership and growing momentum for climate and environmental justice.
By connecting organizations across six states, the Hub helps replicate what works, coordinate strategy, and build regional power.
Our Strategies
The Hub will operate as a regional backbone organization advancing systems-level change through four core strategies:
- Research & Narrative Change: Connecting climate science, cumulative impacts data, and lived experience to shift public understanding and policy framing.
- Policy Advocacy: Advancing equitable climate, health, and environmental policies at state and regional levels that prioritize communities most impacted.
- Strategic Regranting: Deploying targeted investments to community-based organizations working at the intersection of climate and health equity.
- Community-Led Power Building: Supporting grassroots organizations and frontline leaders across the Midwest to shape policy, research, and funding decisions.
Together, these strategies strengthen regional alignment and accelerate climate solutions rooted in justice.