What are frontline communities?
A frontline community is any community that is directly affected by an issue being debated by other parts of society. For the frontline community the impacts of the issue are real and concrete, not abstract, and because of this the frontline community deserves a central role in decision-making on the issue.
Because frontline communities are powerful in influencing decisions that affect them, they are often given or promised things in order to win their support, such as donations to community institutions or jobs. However communities must be careful in balancing such benefits against potentially hidden costs.
In the context of climate change in Australia frontline communities that are those that are at greatest risk of climate-related harm – eg. communities in high-risk bushfire zones – and those living near proposed or existing fossil fuel infrastructure (coal, oil and gas) who are influential in the future of that infrastructure and who may experience both benefits and harms from its presence.
Our aim is to work with and empower frontline communities to address the health inequalities they face from being on the frontline.