This op-ed was originally published in The Hill.
The Black Lives Matter movement highlights long-standing inequities and amplifies the drumbeat for climate justice and an equitable transition to a clean economy. With the incoming Biden-Harris administration and a growing list of environmental justice advocates at the helm, it's time to move from rhetoric to reality. We offer concrete proposals to turn climate justice goals into climate justice policies.
The call for climate justice has multiple dimensions, from ensuring an equitable transition to clean energy for vulnerable communities and workers disrupted by the move away from fossil fuels, to extending the benefits of our economy-wide shift to those who have historically been left behind. Even more than past environmental challenges, decarbonizing will not be a narrow, technical undertaking. We need a holistic, justice-centered perspective to shape our vision for a green economy and meet the pervasive environmental and socioeconomic challenges and opportunities ahead.
From Kentucky to Louisiana to Arizona, communities and workers who rely on the fossil fuel industry are confronting an existential shift, one that requires our collective attention and support. We recommend that the incoming administration and Congress assess these communities’ needs and fund planning for and implementation of community-based economic development strategies. The highest priority should be supporting the communities of color, Native American nations and low-income communities that are most vulnerable to economic disruption.
Congress and the Biden-Harris administration must also address equity gaps arising from the clean energy transition. Studies show that communities of color, which are heavily burdened by the harms of fossil fuel generation and sky-high energy costs, have less access to new solar energy technologies. We urge Congress to prioritize these communities for local clean energy developments and opportunities to own clean energy assets, like solar panels, wind and water turbines and batteries. Such investments do double duty by reducing both the environmental and economic burdens associated with a fossil fuel-based energy system. Targeted investments will also make possible a lasting justice rooted in economic empowerment and climate resilience.
Transitioning away from fossil fuels will not only reduce the threats posed by climate change but also dramatically improve air quality. Communities of color have long endured disproportionate exposure to unhealthy air, a vulnerability that is now linked to the racially disparate health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, we recommend that policymakers prioritize climate strategies that improve air quality, like shutting down fossil fuel power plants in heavily polluted areas, investing in clean transportation in smog-choked cities and reducing diesel pollution in areas with heavy freight traffic. At the same time, we urge policymakers to avoid climate strategies that could increase emissions of other health-threatening pollutants.
Showing 2,834 results
Alice Kaswan, Shalanda H. Baker | January 11, 2021
The Black Lives Matter movement highlights long-standing inequities and amplifies the drumbeat for climate justice and an equitable transition to a clean economy. With the incoming Biden-Harris administration and a growing list of environmental justice advocates at the helm, it's time to move from rhetoric to reality. We offer concrete proposals to turn climate justice goals into climate justice policies.
Amy Sinden, Richard Parker | January 8, 2021
T'was the season of gift-giving and on December 9, outgoing EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler delivered a parting gift for his successor in the form of a new regulation: Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process.
Darya Minovi, James Goodwin | January 7, 2021
In a last-ditch effort to further weaken the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ability to protect public health, this week, the Trump administration published its final “censored science” rule. As stated in the Center for Progressive Reform’s comments on the draft rulemaking, this proposal unjustifiably limits the research that can be used in regulatory decision-making, giving more weight to studies where the underlying data is publicly available. These restrictions will apply to dose-response studies -- which measure how much an increase in pollution exposure increases public health harms -- and which often rely on medical and other private data. CPR urges the incoming Biden administration to repeal this misleading and harmful rulemaking.
James Goodwin | January 4, 2021
In my previous post, I began my review of 10 key regulatory policy stories to watch out for as 2021 gets underway. In this piece, I wrap up that list and offer some closing thoughts.
James Goodwin | January 4, 2021
Thanks to the recent presidential election results, I’m able to do something I haven’t done in a long time: look at a new year with something resembling hope and optimism. As noted in my December 21 posts, the Trump administration wreaked havoc on our system of regulatory safeguards in 2020, as it did in previous years. The incoming Biden-Harris administration brings a strong mandate to undo the damage -- and to go further by building a more just and people-centered government that can meet the pressing challenges America faces. Will they seize the moment? Here are the first five of 10 storylines I’ll be following this year. Each could significantly influence efforts to build a regulatory system that can deliver safeguards that the American public expect and deserve.
James Goodwin | December 21, 2020
This was the year in which many of our worst fears about the Trump administration came to pass. Racial unrest reached a boiling point. The GOP’s attacks on our democracy leading up to and after the election will take decades to fix. And of course, tens of thousands of lives have been needlessly lost to an unprecedented pandemic. It was an ugly year. Not surprisingly, most of 2020’s top regulatory policy stories were ugly too. The incoming Biden-Harris administration can put us back on the right track, but they have a lot of work ahead of them. Here are the first five of this year’s 10 most significant developments affecting regulatory policy and public protections.
James Goodwin | December 21, 2020
In my last post, I began counting down the top ten most significant developments affecting regulatory policy and public protections from the past year. This post completes the task.
Joel A. Mintz, Victor Flatt | December 18, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden is set to name Michael Regan to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Regan is currently the secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and his past experience includes earlier stints at EPA and the Environmental Defense Fund. He would be the first Black man to serve as EPA administrator.
Robert L. Glicksman | December 17, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden tapped Deb Haaland to head up the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees our nation's public lands, wildlife conservation, and key aspects of energy development. Currently a House representative from New Mexico, Haaland has led the national parks, forests, and public lands subcommittee on the House Natural Resources Committee. She would be the first Native American to lead the department.