Justice40

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to watch a briefing about the Justice40 Initiative and how it can deliver benefits to frontline communities.

In January 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. The executive order launched a new initiative, Justice40, which aims to target 40 percent of the benefits from specific federal investments—such as those for clean energy, energy efficiency, and water infrastructure—to “disadvantaged communities.” Justice40 is a critical part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of advancing environmental justice, but efforts must be made to ensure communities see maximum benefits from the initiative. To inform the Justice40 Initiative, the Council on Environmental Quality recently launched a Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

During this briefing, experts discussed the transformative potential of Justice40 as well as the current status of the initiative. Panelists described the wide range of benefits frontline communities could realize from fair and just implementation of the initiative.

HIGHLIGHTS

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The federal government should be intentional in its spending. Federal clean energy spending and assistance programs can provide a substantial opportunity to address energy injustice. The Justice40 initiative requires government agencies to make recommendations on how certain federal investments might be made toward a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits flow to disadvantaged communities. A comprehensive Justice40 framework does not yet exist at the federal level. In February 2022, the White House published the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool to identify disadvantaged communities. The screening tool does not use race as a factor in identifying disadvantaged communities. The Justice40 Accelerator, a philanthropically-supported project, is designed to help prepare frontline organizations for the opportunity to receive federal resources made available through the Justice40 initiative. The Green Door Initiative in Detroit, Michigan, is part of the Justice40 Accelerator but has not yet received any federal funding.

 

U.S. Representative Donald McEachin (D-Va.)

• Every American deserves the right to clean air, clean water and to live in an environment free of harmful pollutants.
• The Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 initiative demonstrates a historic effort to advance environmental justice for the American people. The initiative commits 40 percent of benefits from the investments in the clean energy transition toward disadvantaged communities. This is a meaningful step in creating healthier environments for historically marginalized and oppressed groups.
• Every community has unique challenges that require a tailored solution. House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. McEachin launched the nationwide Environmental Justice Now Tour to see the realities of environmental justice and to hear from impacted residents, stakeholders, and community leaders. The tour centers around the Environmental Justice for All Act (H.R.2021/S.872), introduced in the House by Reps. Grijalva and McEachin.

 

Raya Salter, Esq., Founder, The Energy Justice Law and Policy Center; Member, New York State Climate Action Council; Member, EESI Board of Directors

• The Justice40 initiative requires government agencies to make recommendations on how certain federal investments might be made toward a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits flow to disadvantaged communities.
• Justice40 also required the creation of a geospatial climate and economic justice screening tool and that the government put forward a report card by February 2022 (though the report card had yet to be released as of April 8, 2022).
• The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) is a body within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made up of environmental justice advocates who are appointed by the President.
• The Justice40 initiative was inspired by New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (S6599). One of the provisions of this act is that 40 percent of the benefits of climate spending in New York must be directed to disadvantaged communities.
• In February 2022, the White House published the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool to identify disadvantaged communities. The screening tool does not use race as a factor in identifying disadvantaged communities.
• There are a number of Congressional actions related to the Justice40 initiative including the Environmental Justice for All Act and the Federal Agency Climate PREP Act (H.R.5477/S.3156).

 

Carla Walker, U.S. Director for Environmental Justice and Equity, World Resources Institute (WRI)

• The federal government should be intentional in its spending. Federal clean energy spending and assistance programs can provide a substantial opportunity to address energy injustice.
• WRI suggests a review of existing forms of current direct federal spending and programs to get a sense of how these current programs address energy inequity.
• Because the federal government is a major collector and aggregator of data, it can address existing data inadequacies, push for more effectively targeted programming, and regularly evaluate if program funding is reaching marginalized communities.
• WRI highlighted three areas for data improvement in their issue brief, Addressing Energy Equity in the United States: Policy Considerations for Federal Investment: completeness (the need for more reporting on clean energy), equity indicators, and engagement and access.
• In order to implement effective data-driven and results-focused programs, the federal government should help build the capacity of state and local governments and community groups.
• Job creation should focus on creating high-quality jobs and ensuring pathways for historically excluded groups to access these jobs.
• More than one in four American households have a high energy burden, meaning that these households spend at least 6 percent of their income on energy. A disproportionate number of these high energy burden households are Hispanic, Black, and Indigenous.

 

Colleen Callahan, Co-Executive Director, Luskin Center for Innovation, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

• The Luskin Center for Innovation's report, Making Justice40 a Reality for Frontline Communities: Lessons from States’ Climate and Clean Energy Investments, found that most states and cities with climate and energy investment laws have components of environmental justice and investment minimums for disadvantaged communities. States in the study include Washington, Virginia, New York, Maryland, Illinois, and California.
• California has invested over $4 billion in disadvantaged communities and low-income households, with 50 percent of implemented dollars invested in priority populations (compared to 40 percent at the federal level, with Justice40).
• A Justice40 framework does not yet exist at the federal level. Justice40 should prioritize funding not only for communities that have received the least benefit from government investments, but also those that have experienced the most harm, such as communities at the frontlines of pollution. The Justice40 initiative should prioritize investments in physical infrastructure like clean energy installations and zero-emission transportation.
• Justice40 should update investment programs and processes to ensure community agency and leadership over local investments.
• The initiative should include strong guardrails to ensure that agencies at all levels of government and all states are held accountable for meeting justice standards.
• Different states provide examples of ways to address disparities through climate and clean energy investments:
  • New York is working to address outsized pollution burdens and associated health impacts through their Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
  • Virginia is planning to address the impacts of climate change in the Clean Energy and Community Flood Protection Act of 2020.
  • California is investing in technical assistance and capacity-building support to help local governments and nonprofits apply for and manage large grants. California’s Climate Investments have created new investment programs and processes to empower communities and allow them to set their own investment priorities.
  • Illinois and Maryland are planning to provide comprehensive financial and job training support for workers affected by the loss of jobs in the fossil fuel industries.
  • Washington State is investing in increasing access to clean technology and lowering utility costs for low-income households.
• Currently, the Justice40 initiative is framed around benefits versus direct investments. A direct investment approach would simplify the process of assessing compliance and achievements for agencies that oversee or administer programs while enhancing transparency and accountability to taxpayers.
• Action should come from the federal level to ensure equitable results across the country.

 

Donele Wilkins, President and CEO, Green Door Initiative

• The Green Door Initiative is an environmental justice organization located in Detroit, Michigan. Its mission is to ensure that everyone is capable of promoting and living out a sustainable lifestyle regardless of zip code, race, or income.
• The Green Door Initiative is part of the Justice40 Accelerator. The accelerator is designed to help prepare frontline organizations for the opportunity to receive federal resources made available through the Justice40 initiative. However, the Green Door Initiative has yet to receive any federal funding.
• Detroit has been experiencing the evidence and impacts of climate change over the last few years. We need strong proactive strategies to protect our community, particularly those that are most vulnerable, such as the elderly, handicapped, children, and low-income people.
• Energy and chemical production creates problems in the community. For example, the Marathon Oil petrochemical plant is located in a densely populated neighborhood in Detroit. This plant impacts public health, causing chronic diseases such as asthma. The plant makes it impossible for the local community to meet the standards of the Clean Air Act.
• But renewable energy production can create solutions. For example, 313 Solar LLC, a company established by the Green Door Initiative, models how expanding solar can also involve workforce development. 313 Solar builds a workforce in the local community to direct the benefits and opportunities of the energy transition back to the community. This type of initiative creates wealth at the community level, and ensures that the community holds decision-making power over their energy resources.
• The Green Door Initiative provides job training in the “green collar” environmental sector. Since 2010, the Green Door Initiative has trained 700 individuals, many of whom faced structural barriers to employment (about a third are returning citizens).
• In addition to direct community investments, it is necessary to ensure that people and organizations already working in this space can access federal resources.
• The clean energy sector employs a low number of people of color and women. The Green Door Initiative intends to serve as a model for a diverse clean energy workforce.

 

Q&A

 

Q: How should the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool inform the Justice40 initiative and are there improvements that would make it more useful?

Salter:

• The EPA and Department of Energy have authority over the criteria to determine disadvantaged communities, and they do not use race as a factor. Many activists are questioning why race is not being used as an indicator. The administration is worried about legal challenges and they are not wrong, but still how do you take race out of a tool to address environmental racism?
• New York State recently released its own draft criteria for disadvantaged communities to advance climate justice, which could inform and improve upon the federal screening tool.

Walker:

• Cities, organizations, and individuals should test out the screening tool and provide feedback by the deadline for public comment on April 25 [now extended to May 25, 2022].
• WRI has found that while this is a useful quantitative approach to identifying disadvantaged communities, the methodology and guidance should also acknowledge the qualitative shortcomings of the tool in identifying and defining the challenges that environmental justice frontline communities are facing.

Callahan:

• The tool can serve as a baseline to direct federal investments and funding, but the screening tool should not be viewed as the only metric to inform these investments.

Wilkins:

• The tool allows users to identify disadvantaged communities with different inputs, such as zip code or census tract, a geographical unit of about 4,000 people. However, from testing the tool on Detroit, they have found that the inputs yield different results and can often erase entire neighborhoods from being considered disadvantaged. There should be additional data and information that users can input to understand how communities are affected and to inform decision makers.

 

Q: Some states have proposed programs similar to Justice40. Which states are doing it right?

Salter:

• New York has a Climate Action Council with appointees and a Climate Justice Working Group that have helped pass New York State’s Climate Action Plan.
• Delaware, North Carolina, and a number of other states have developed initiatives like Justice40 that include citizen-based advisory panels and processes.

Walker:

• There are some good examples of climate legislation in New York, Illinois, and Michigan. Grassroots organizations play an important role in initiating climate legislation at the local and state levels, but the federal government should also try to help in states where the governor or state officials are resistant to climate action.

Callahan:

• In California, the state Strategic Growth Council developed several new programs, including the Transformative Climate Communities program. One success of this program is that communities are able to identify their own needs and priorities for funding and programming. Communities identify their climate action priorities to achieve local health and economic goals in addition to greenhouse gas reductions. Through a collaborative stakeholder engagement process, they develop leadership, partnership, and capacity building.

Wilkins:

• In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office invited environmental justice groups around the state, including the Green Door Initiative, to serve as an advisor on environmental justice issues.

 

Q: What barriers do frontline communities and organizations have in accessing federal money and what can be done to minimize those barriers?

Wilkins:

• One major barrier is the lack of capacity to pursue federal funding or grants. Many frontline communities and organizations do not have the ability to hire consultants to help write grant proposals or help in the application process. This barrier could be minimized by reducing the amount of technical assistance required or providing funding to assist small organizations with the technical components of grants.
• Another barrier is that many organizations do not know when and what type of funding will be available. Organizations could benefit by planning around a particular proposal by building partnerships and relationships with organizations that can help them deliver on the proposal.
• Smaller organizations at the frontlines often do not have access to funding because larger organizations have more knowledge of federal grants and the capacity to apply to them.

Salter:

• Decision makers seek expertise on energy, climate, and environmental justice from frontline organizations, but these organizations lack the capacity to provide specific metrics that representatives may be looking for. This barrier could be minimized by providing funding to frontline organizations to build their capacity and technical expertise.

Walker:

• Some cities, like many frontline nonprofits, are also struggling to respond to federal grants and lack the capacity to apply for funding. If cities cannot access funding, then the funding cannot be further distributed to the city’s communities.

Callahan:

• Inequality may worsen because affluent municipalities can afford to hire lobbyists and other experts to understand and advise on applying for funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58), therefore giving affluent communities better access to funding opportunities. The federal government should provide more technical assistance to disadvantaged communities and community-based organizations while also examining internal structures and systems that create these barriers in the first place.

 

Compiled by Emilie Austin and edited for clarity and length. This is not a transcript.