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CONCLUSION California is a leader in addressing climate change in the United States and has an urgent responsibility to consider the impacts of climate change on incarcerated people throughout the state. As temperatures rise, cold fronts move in, wildfires spread, and flooding increases, we must come together to consider how we can keep our most vulnerable communities safe from harm. With the general trend towards decarceration in our state, we have shown it is already possible to close prisons, reduce our prison population, and reinvest in the communities most harmed by climate change. This research is only the beginning of increasing our understanding of how climate hazards affect incarcerated people, how to bridge the chasm between written CDCR policy and its implementation, and how to confront the harmful carceral system.
