Environmental Justice: People, Practice and Policy

Summary

The speaker at Verge 23 discusses the importance of environmental justice, emphasizing its three pillars: people, policy, and practice. They highlight the personal impact of climate change on marginalized communities and their role as the first-ever Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer. The speech underscores initiatives like the Justice40 program, which aims to direct 40% of federal benefits to underprivileged communities, and the Inflation Reduction Act's historic investment in climate change solutions. The speaker encourages attendees to use their influence to advance environmental justice and leave a positive legacy.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Acknowledging Indigenous land stewards like the Ohlone sisters is crucial for environmental justice.
• 🌱 Environmental justice focuses on three key pillars: people, policy, and practice, intertwined to create a sustainable world.
• 🤔 The speaker defines environmental justice as a world where all people, regardless of race or income, can access clean air, water, and healthy living conditions.
• 🏫 Environmental justice means ensuring that everyone has access to clean schools, safe water, and healthy food, which is not yet a reality for many marginalized communities.
• 👩‍⚖️ The speaker expresses pride in being part of an administration, led by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, that prioritizes environmental justice.
• 👪 The speaker’s personal 'why' for pursuing environmental justice stems from family experiences with climate-related issues, like heat stress and flooding in Detroit.
• 🏛️ The speaker serves as the first Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer at the White House, working to protect public health and the environment through coordinated federal efforts.
• 📜 President Biden's administration has signed multiple executive orders, including one revitalizing the commitment to environmental justice and the Justice40 initiative to ensure that 40% of federal investments benefit disadvantaged communities.
• 📊 The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool helps identify disadvantaged communities for targeted investments in clean energy and disaster resilience.
• 📚 The speaker encourages everyone to reflect on their power and privilege to advance environmental justice by asking who benefits from their decisions, whether they’ve been inclusive, and whether there are unintended consequences.

Q & A

What are the three cornerstones of environmental justice according to the speaker?

The three cornerstones of environmental justice mentioned by the speaker are people, policy, and practice. These elements, when interwoven together, can help achieve a just, healthy, and sustainable world.

How does the speaker define environmental justice?

Environmental justice is defined as a world where the color of one's skin, ethnicity, income, or ZIP code does not dictate whether a person lives in a healthy or sustainable community. It focuses on clean air, safe water, accessible transportation, and affordable fresh food for everyone, regardless of their background.

What is the Justice40 initiative?

The Justice40 initiative aims to ensure that 40% of the overall benefits of federal investments reach marginalized, over-polluted, underinvested, and often forgotten communities. It focuses on clean energy, safe housing, and energy efficiency.

Why does the speaker emphasize personal connections to environmental justice work?

The speaker emphasizes personal connections to environmental justice because climate change has directly impacted their family and community, such as extreme heat stress affecting their grandparents and displacement from flooding for their parents in Detroit. This personal experience drives their commitment to the cause.

What tool does the speaker suggest for identifying disadvantaged communities?

The speaker mentions the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, a geospatial mapping tool designed to identify disadvantaged census tracts. This tool is used by federal agencies to ensure that resources reach the communities most in need.

What is the role of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WEJAC)?

The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WEJAC) provides advice and formal recommendations to help advance policies. It includes environmental justice leaders from across the U.S. to ensure that community voices are incorporated into solutions.

What are some key programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act related to environmental justice?

Key programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act include the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which leverages $27 billion of private capital to address the climate crisis, and other Justice40 programs prioritizing communities left behind in terms of clean energy and housing.

What executive orders related to climate and environmental justice did the speaker mention?

The speaker mentioned two executive orders signed by President Biden: the Environmental Justice Executive Order to embed environmental justice into federal agencies and Executive Order 14008, which sets the most ambitious climate and environmental justice agenda ever, tackling the climate crisis both domestically and globally.

What are the three key questions the speaker encourages people to ask when advancing environmental justice?

The three questions are: 1) Who will benefit from my policy decision or investment? 2) Have I been inclusive, engaging people I haven't spoken to before? 3) Are there any unintentional consequences, either positive or negative, that may result from this decision?

What personal experiences has the speaker shared to highlight the importance of environmental justice?

The speaker shared experiences of their grandparents suffering from heat stress and their parents being displaced from their home in Detroit multiple times due to flooding caused by climate change. These events underscore the speaker's personal motivation to advocate for environmental justice.