Alabama has a population of 5.1 million, and the state spreads across more than 50 thousand square miles, making it the 30th largest state by area and the 24th most populated state in the US. Alabama is known for its iron and steel natural resources, and, less commonly, for being the home of the largest snail population in the US. Of all the snails in the country 43% can be found in Alabama! This includes the oblong rocksnail, a rare snail endemic to Alabama which was almost driven to extinction due to water pollution and habitat degradation, and is currently threatened by climate change impacts such as droughts on the Cahaba River.
Warmer waters and winters are contributing to a rise of invasive species and pests in Alabama threatening the state’s ecosystems, economy, and the health of its citizens. Extreme heat, insect-carried diseases, and air and water pollution disproportionately affect the elderly, as well as people living in poverty and people of color. For Alabama, ranking 49th in the country for healthcare in 2026, climate-related health risks are particularly concerning.
Days with extreme heat are expected to increase, potentially claiming up to 760 more lives each year by 2040-2059, and costing the economy up to $1.2 billion each year. Additionally, days with high wildfire potential are expected to double by 2050. Extreme heat and severe drought could threaten agriculture and farming in Alabama, causing crop failures and reducing livestock productivity.
As a coastal state, Alabama is also impacted by sea level rise directly resulting from climate change. Experts project that by mid-century, floods are likely to exceed six feet beyond the high tide line, exposing $8 billion worth of property value and the homes of more than 13,500 people. In a ten-foot increase scenario, the number of people vulnerable to displacement will more than double. More frequent, more severe rainstorms compound these issues.
Alabama ranks among the top 10 states in industrial sector energy consumption, consuming about 69% more energy than it produces. The state ranks 7th in net energy production and 5th in nuclear power production, and is among the top five states in the manufacture of vehicles. Since 2014, natural gas has accounted for the largest percent of the state’s electricity generation. While Alabama has sizable deposits of coal, the proportion of coal contributing to the state’s net generation has declined to 15%, with nuclear contributing 31% and gas 45%. Renewable resources are growing in Alabama, with 6% of in-state electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 2% from biomass, thanks to the state’s vast forests, making it fourth in the nation in biomass electricity generation and eighth in the nation in hydropower. Alabama has huge potential in renewable energy, with the ability to generate about 45 times its demand with solar energy and 64% of its demand from wind; but it is far behind its potential, and lags behind other states.
Alabama produced its first statewide climate plan in March 2024 under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program. Alabama’s Priority Climate Action Plan outlines priority measures for the state including recycling, establishing solar infrastructure to support irrigation in rural areas, industrial decarbonization, reducing GHG emissions during pavement construction, and fleet electrification. The City of Birmingham also participated in the EPA program, producing the state’s first regional climate plan in November 2025.
Alabama has also been a leader in disaster resilience, with the Strengthen Alabama Homes program becoming a national model. In May 2023, Governor Kay Ivey established the Alabama Resilience Council to create a coordinated disaster response network, but the Council’s website and mission do not mention climate change.
In Elba, Alabama, hometown of the “father of environmental justice” Robert Bullard, residents have been plagued by a flooding crisis caused by a highway expansion project - a “textbook case of environmental racism” according to Bullard.
In 2023, a landmark settlement was reached in an environmental justice case in Lowndes County where Black residents were disproportionately affected by failing septic systems. Catherine Coleman Flowers, Lowndes County resident and founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), documented this lack of sanitation infrastructure in rural areas in Alabama and across the country in her book Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret. In April 2025, the Department of Justice terminated the landmark settlement agreement following Trump’s executive order shuttering any DEI programs, including environmental justice related programs.
The Southern Environmental Lawsuit has repeatedly sued the Alabama Power Company over their toxic coal ash pits which have been described as a “huge environmental bomb.” The coal ash pits stretch an estimated 600 acres and contain 21 million tons of coal ash on the banks of the Mobile River, north of Mobile Bay. A breach of the coal ash pond would be an “environmental justice crisis,” releasing heavy metal pollutants into groundwater and drinking water, affecting the biodiverse estuary, destroying habitats, and threatening the health, safety, and economy of communities living along the river.
Unlike most states, Alabama does not have a comprehensive statewide water plan, a concerning absence as proposals roll in for new water-sucking data centers across the state, including in Bessemer, Childersburg, and Columbiana. In Bessemer, residents are fighting the construction of a 4.5 million square foot data center called Project Marvel. The hyperscale data center complex would consume 10.5 million megawatt hours of energy per year, 90 times the amount of energy used by all the residents in Bessemer, and researchers have found the construction could put the Birmingham darter fish at risk of extinction. Watch this powerful mini-documentary from Southern Exposure highlighting how community members are opposing Project Marvel.
Visit the Alabama Institute for Social Justice’s policy site for more on environmental justice in Alabama, and read here about the fight to protect Alabama’s Black Warrior River, to remove Alabama Power’s toxic coal ash ponds, and to reduce air pollution in Birmingham.
CREDIT: Birmingham Zoo
