Two Years of Justice40: Integrating Environmental Justice into U.S. Climate Policy
By Miguel Lopes, July 5, 2023
The Justice40 Initiative recognizes that while the climate and energy goals can’t be accomplished without the contribution and participation of all communities, the climate crisis does not impact all communities equally.
Two years ago, President Biden established a climate goal of achieving a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions in the United States no later than 2050. In doing so, he aims to direct 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate investments to disadvantaged communities. This environmental initiative is known as the “Justice40 Initiative.” Two years have passed since the implementation of this initiative. Has there been any substantive progress?
The Justice40 Initiative recognizes that while the climate and energy goals can’t be accomplished without the contribution and participation of all communities, the climate crisis does not impact all communities equally. Historically marginalized, low-income, Indigenous and communities of color live with more climate burden as a result of systemic racism. The Environmental Protection Agency has documented the disproportionate pollution burden on their communities despite contributing the least to the climate crisis. On average, Black and Latino communities experience 56% and 63% higher pollution than they generate, respectively, while White Americans experience 17% less pollution than they generate, according to a report from the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.
Justice40 not only aims to address historical inequities and injustices, but also encourages economic opportunity for these communities. Specific investments covered by the initiative include climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure.
Justice40 Initiative Progress
In the last two years, the vast majority of the work aimed to create the infrastructure and framework to ensure environmental justice (EJ) programs are properly identified and supported.A significant accomplishment is the number of agency programs announced that comply with the Justice40 Initiative. Today, 16 agencies have identified over 400 programs that will provide climate investments to frontline communities. This includes programs and investments contained in landmark legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In January 2023, the Biden Administration announced that the first $100 million of IRA’s Environmental Justice Grants will soon be available for EJ projects throughout the country, with about $40 million allocated for state, local, and community partners, $30 million for community-based nonprofits, $20 million for federally recognized Indigenous communities and $10 million for U.S. territories. These grants underscore the largest EJ investment in U.S. history, and Justice40 is an important commitment for ensuring that disadvantaged communities have opportunities to provide meaningful input on climate and clean energy program decisions. Below are Change The Chamber’s desired outcomes from the Justice40 Initiative for four federal agencies:
Department of Transportation
Increase affordable transportation options that fight climate change and connect communities.
Identify and prioritize projects that benefit disadvantaged communities.
Evaluate the negative impacts of transportation projects on disadvantaged
communities.Department of Energy
Decrease energy burden in disadvantaged communities.
Decrease environmental exposure and burdens.
Increase parity in clean energy technology.
Increase access to low-cost capital in disadvantaged communities.
Increase clean energy enterprise and jobs in disadvantaged communities.
Increase energy resiliency and democracy in disadvantaged communities.
Environmental Protection Agency
Develop a comprehensive framework for EJ impacts in relevant EPA decisions.
Build capacity for community participation.
Strengthen the EPA's external civil rights compliance program.
Integrate community science.
Make procurement and contracting more equitable.
Housing and Urban Development
Help tribal communities achieve safe, resilient housing.
Pilot new models for Section 3 compliance.
Improve equity in community planning and engagement.
Reduce lead and radon exposure.
Update HUD's environmental review policies to include climate hazards and environmental justice.
Data for Progress survey about the Justice40 Initiative
In early 2023, a survey was conducted by Data for Progress in collaboration with the World Resources Institute to better understand the public opinion of the Justice40 Initiative.
Despite Justice40 considerations being embedded in climate and clean energy legislation, the initiative lacks recognition from the national electorate. Data for Progress polling found that 85% of national voters report knowing “nothing at all” about Justice40, while 14% report knowing “a little,” and only 1% report knowing “a lot” about the initiative. This shows that the administration must allocate part of its resources to broaden the level of public awareness and understanding of Justice40. More work is needed to strengthen communication and partnerships that can translate to action between the government and communities.
When informed about the major components of Justice40, including the commitment to distribute 40% of the overall benefits from designated federal investments to disadvantaged communities, a majority of voters indicate they support the initiative. Notably, 82% of Democrats support Justice40 after hearing about the initiative, as compared to 55% of Independents and 25% of Republicans.
Support for Justice40 is especially strong among Black and Latino population. Nearly three- quarters of Black voters (72%) and 68% of Latino voters support Justice40. These findings suggest broader awareness of the positive impacts that Justice40 benefits will confer to historically disadvantaged communities.
While supporters of Justice40 highlight the initiative’s commitment to environmental justice and the opportunity it provides for local community input on program decisions, opponents of the initiative believe the initiative will pave the way for unprecedented presidential and bureaucratic overreach in the states. When informed about these arguments, a plurality of voters still support Justice40, with 48% in support and 40% opposed to the initiative.
Outside of partisanship, race and ethnicity also impacts voters’ assessments of which jurisdiction should be trusted most to deliver Justice40 benefits. Although white voters are most likely to trust local governments (34%) over the state and federal government, we find the reverse with Black and Latino voters, with both groups trusting the federal government most to distribute benefits to disadvantaged communities (37% and 32%, respectively). This may be an opportunity for the administration to strengthen ties across jurisdictions but also reach into communities to shore up partnerships with the end user of these new economic and climate policies.
Conclusion
Justice40 reflects one part of the Biden Administration's commitment to a broader environmental justice strategy. A large number of citizens believe that environmental justice should be very important for lawmakers to consider when crafting environmental policy. This support illustrates growing consensus on the significance of environmental disparities in disadvantaged communities and the need to address them. The Latino and Black voters place even higher importance on environmental justice as a factor in lawmaking. Voters across the electorate increasingly recognize the vital role that environmental justice must play in effective policy making, both through the Justice40 Initiative and beyond.
Two years later, Justice40 occupies an even more vital role and represents a historic opportunity for the U.S. to put communities first. There is still much work to be done to clean up polluted communities, develop energy infrastructure to deliver cost-effective, clean, and reliable energy across the country and make communities more resilient to climate disasters, but the Biden Administration has demonstrated its commitment to doing that.
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