Washington, D.C. — The Biden administration has launched the most ambitious climate and environmental justice agenda in history to ensure that every community has clean air and water, access to living-wage jobs and affordable clean energy, and protection from the impacts of climate change. A new report from the Center for American Progress tallies all the investments the administration has made so far and finds that at least $148 billion has been targeted to improve the environment in disadvantaged communities across the country.
“The work to repair the brutal legacy of racial and environmental injustice is far from complete,” said Cathleen Kelly, senior fellow at CAP and co-author of the report. “But the investments this administration is making in pollution cleanup, clean renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and climate resilience in Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income communities will go a long way toward improving the lives of people who have for too long been on the front lines of our nation’s worst pollution and climate change threats.”
The report shows how the funds designated from the administration’s climate and infrastructure legislation for disadvantaged communities—along with other federal investments mobilized by the Justice40 Initiative—are beginning to bring real benefits to low-income, Black, brown, and Indigenous communities overburdened by high levels of pollution and economic and racial inequality.
“The historic investment the Biden administration has made to clean up pollution and create living-wage jobs in communities of color and low-wealth communities should leave no doubt that it is firmly committed to ensuring that no community is left behind,” said Michele Roberts, national co-coordinator for the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform and co-author of the report.
This report discusses how these actions—and the Biden administration’s other historic investments—are accelerating efforts to guarantee that all people can live in healthy and safe communities, including by:
- Ensuring clean air, clean water, and a healthy climate
- Lowering household energy costs and providing access to clean renewable energy
- Improving community climate resilience, transportation, and access to living-wage jobs
Read the report: “How the Biden Administration Is Fighting for Clean Air and Water, Climate Protection, and Healthy Communities for All” by Cathleen Kelly, Michele Roberts, and Rachel Chang
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].