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Environmental Justice in Action

Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities are tapping into the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented climate, clean energy, and environmental justice investments. These communities are using this new influx of funding to secure clean air and water, affordable clean energy, living-wage jobs, and improved public health.

A group of environmental justice activists is seen in front of some trees and cars.
In June 2024, the ReGenesis Institute hosted a Community Conversations series event, providing local community leaders and state and local government officials with information on how federal funding opportunities created by the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative, Inflation Reduction Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act have the ability to improve livelihoods and public health and tackle climate change and environmental injustice. (Photo: David Mitchell/ReGenesis Institute)

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice, Environmental and Climate Justice

The United States has entered a new era of environmental justice. The Biden-Harris administration has dedicated nearly $150 billion toward pollution cleanup, clean energy development, the creation of living-wage jobs, and measures to ensure that all people—regardless of race, income or ZIP code—can live in healthy and safe communities. Under the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative, more than 500 programs across 17 federal agencies are committed to delivering at least 40 percent of the benefits from federal climate, clean energy, and other infrastructure investments to historically marginalized communities. From pollution reduction to clean transit, flood and extreme heat protection, and clean energy development, there are new climate, health, and job opportunities unfolding to an extent never seen before.

This series highlights the tireless efforts of community organizations, residents, and state and local governments working to reverse decadeslong environmental injustice and tackle the climate crisis in order to improve public health and economic security in Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities. It explores the many ways in which these groups are accessing and making use of the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments.

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A Holistic Approach to Environmental Justice Video

A Holistic Approach to Environmental Justice

The Friendship House Association of American Indians is using Inflation Reduction Act funds to support the building of Village SF, an inter-Tribal community project that will help the more than 18,000 Indigenous peoples in the San Francisco Bay Area reconnect with nature, their culture, and their community.

Margaret Cooney, Jeremy Hill, Hai-Lam Phan, 2 More Olivia Mowry, Lauren Vicary

Community Conversations Event Series Video

Community Conversations Event Series

The Biden administration’s unprecedented environmental justice investments are transforming despair into optimism and into tangible benefits in communities, including clean air and water, jobs, improved public health, and clean and affordable energy.

Margaret Cooney, Olivia Mowry

Securing Environmental Justice for All Report
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House before signing an executive order that would create the White House Office of Environmental Justice.

Securing Environmental Justice for All

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, can access living-wage jobs and affordable clean energy, and is protected from climate change threats.

Cathleen Kelly, Michele Roberts, Rachel Chang

‘Clean Up To Green Up’: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and a Brighter Future in Detroit Video

‘Clean Up To Green Up’: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and a Brighter Future in Detroit

The Green Door Initiative is using federal investments from President Joe Biden's Justice40 Initiative and the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that all people—regardless of race, income, or ZIP code—have access to good jobs and live in safe and healthy communities.

Margaret Cooney, Hannah Malus, Cathleen Kelly, 5 More Matthew Gossage, Toni Pandolfo, Jeremy Hill, Andrew Sonntag, Hai-Lam Phan

Securing Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthy Environment for All Video

Securing Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthy Environment for All

Industrial facilities are most often located in or near Black, brown, and low-income communities who face the brunt of harmful industrial pollution, climate change impacts, and other environmental and public health hazards—something Harold Mitchell experienced firsthand in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Fortunately, the Biden administration’s long-overdue environmental justice investments can ensure that all people—regardless of race, income, or ZIP code—have clean air and clean water and live in safe and healthy communities.

Devon Lespier, Margaret Cooney, Hannah Malus, 6 More Cathleen Kelly, Hai-Lam Phan, Matthew Gossage, Jeremy Hill, Andrew Sonntag, Toni Pandolfo

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