Invisible in the Storm: Why Climate Justice Must Include People Living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Contributed by: Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ)

Climate change affects everyone, but it does not affect everyone equally.

For people living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), climate-related events such as wildfire smoke, extreme heat, power outages, and emergency evacuations can quickly become health emergencies. As temperatures rise, building materials and consumer products release greater amounts of airborne chemicals. Wildfire smoke carries a complex mixture of pollutants, while emergency shelters and cooling centres may unintentionally expose individuals to fragranced products, cleaning chemicals, pesticides, or other environmental triggers that make these spaces inaccessible.

Too often, these barriers remain invisible within climate adaptation planning.

To help address this gap, the Association pour la santé environnementale du Québec – Environmental Health Association of Québec (ASEQ-EHAQ) has launched Invisible in the Storm: The Eviance x ASEQ-EHAQ Climate Justice Project, a community-based initiative examining how climate events affect people living with MCS across Québec and Ontario.

Supported through the Eviance Climate and Disability Community Local Action Grant Program, the project is grounded in the belief that people with disabilities should not simply be consulted, they should help shape the solutions. Community members are active partners throughout the project, contributing their lived experience, identifying barriers, and helping develop practical recommendations for more accessible and inclusive emergency preparedness.

The project recently received Research Ethics Board approval and has now launched its bilingual community survey. Over the coming months, participants will share their experiences during climate events, including wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and emergency situations. They will also contribute to a participatory climate vulnerability map that will help identify where accessibility barriers occur and where improvements are needed.

Beyond documenting these experiences, the project is designed to create practical, lasting change. Community members will help establish a Peer Climate Response Cohort to strengthen preparedness and mutual support during future climate events. The project will also conduct a participatory chemical accessibility audit of an emergency facility to identify opportunities for creating safer and more inclusive emergency environments.

The findings will inform a bilingual community report, policy recommendations, and practical tools that can support emergency planners, disability organizations, governments, and community partners. ASEQ-EHAQ also hopes to contribute the project's findings to the growing body of research on climate, disability, and environmental accessibility through future conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

This work contributes directly to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).

Climate resilience can only be achieved when emergency planning includes everyone. By listening to the voices of people living with MCS and working together across the disability, climate, health, and emergency management sectors, we can build communities that are healthier, more accessible, and better prepared for the future.

We look forward to sharing our progress as the project unfolds.

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