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A few thoughts on the #EnvironmentalJustice justice section of the Democrat's new climate plan: https://climatecrisis.house.gov/sites/climatecrisis.house.gov/files/Climate%20Crisis%20Action%20Plan.pdf
First and foremost, it is really noteworthy just how central issues of equity and justice are in this report; environmental justice historically has been marginalized in policy discussions, but that is not the case here.
This is a testament to the tireless work and dedication of environmental justice advocates across the country who keep on fighting, regardless of the historical resistance they experience.
There is a lot to digest in the plan, and let me start with five points on what I think the plan gets right:
1. Important emphasis on enforcement -- the @EPA does not need any new authority to prioritize EJ communities in their enforcement strategies; the agency does need willingness and resources, and the report pushes for both.
2. Amending Title VI of the Civil Rights Act -- the federal courts to date have foreclosed a private right of action under 602 and this needs to be undone to give EJ communities a chance to seek relief for discriminatory siting.
3. Focus on investment -- plan calls for new infrastructure and economic development in frontline communities, including those that will be hurt from the move away from fossil fuels (e.g., coal towns) -- a just transition requires both!
4. Codification of Executive Order 12898 -- work from me and others has demonstrated that this Clinton-era EO has largely been a failure, ignored by the EPA and most other federal agencies: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/failed-promises
See also work from @cprovost45 and @BrianJGerber that finds little attention to EO 12898 in rulemaking: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-public-policy/article/political-control-and-policymaking-uncertainty-in-executive-orders-the-implementation-of-environmental-justice-policy/01F8E1BB65AC836C6579062083DFBA7F
5. Investment in tools to help decision-making -- the EPA and Congress need to better account for environmental justice, but they also need information for how to do that; the plan's call for investment in EJSCREEN and in a CBO-like office for climate/environment is a good start.
And now, four key shortcomings of the plan:
1. The EPA has no clear mandate from the laws it implements to address EJ; at some point, Congress will need to amend the CAA, CWA, RCRA, etc. if it wants the EPA to base decisions on cumulative impacts and on disproportionate pollution effects for EJ communities.
2. The plan calls for changes at the EPA, including EJ training and an EPA EJ Ombudsmen -- these are important, but Jill Harrison's recent book shows that the insensitivity to environmental justice at the agency runs very deep: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/inside-out
3. Most policy implementation is handled by state governments (i.e., permitting, enforcement); Congress and the EPA will need to find a way to hold state governments accountable for EJ too!
4. There is nothing in the plan that addresses the current spatial pattern of pollution which has resulted in communities of color and low-income experiencing disproportionate burdens. Enforcement is important, but addressing the effects of "legal" pollution is critical too.
All in all, despite these shortcoming, there is much to praise in the Democratic plan, and it is truly momentous for environmental justice to be integrated to this extent in the overall strategy for addressing climate change.
