Hi John,

This week, another 3.8 million Americans filed unemployment claims, bringing the total to more than 30 million since this crisis began almost two months ago. With President Trump and some US states, like Georgia, thinking about reopening the economy, the questions remain: When will it be safe to reopen, and what kind of economy will American workers face upon their return?
 
With the production of a viable vaccine likely months away and continued inadequacy in testing, Congress’ priority has to be on ensuring Americans gain access to faster, reliable testing and medical care and start putting ideas to paper on a recovery package that puts Americans into jobs when it’s time to get back to work. 
 
Make sure you follow The Economics of COVID-19 with Dr. Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, where our in-house economist is exploring these and other critical issues.
 
This week, we take a look at tax mechanisms that could protect struggling clean energy businesses, as well as a recent podcast episode that explores the link between climate change and environmental injustice in the African-American community.

When White America Gets a Cold, Black America Gets Pneumonia

This month, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health released a study that directly linked an increased risk in death from COVID-19 to long-term exposure to air pollution. African-Americans, who face increased exposure to air pollution, are dying at a faster rate than their white or Hispanic counterparts. From Newark to Chicago to “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana, African-Americans are suffering from environmental injustice, from facing a higher risk of death from the coronavirus to often bearing the brunt of the impacts of climate change. 
 
That’s something we explore on the most recent episode of “Path to Zero,” a podcast series in partnership with Political Climate. In “Fighting Energy Injustice and Coronavirus in the African-American Communities,” we look at how COVID-19 and climate change are affecting Black communities and how these issues can be tackled in tandem. Host Julia Pyper chats with Akunna Cook of Third Way, Tony Reames of the University of Michigan, Naomi Davis of Green 2.0, and me.

Keeping Clean Energy Progress and Jobs Afloat

The clean energy industry has had several setbacks since the beginning of the pandemic, but as Third Way’s Lindsey Walter writes, Congress has the opportunity to stanch the damage. Last week, a group of bipartisan senators asked the US Treasury to extend the deadline for renewable energy projects to qualify for tax credits from 2020 to 2021, so that clean energy companies can secure the tax credits they need to finance their projects -- and maintain payroll. This would ensure that even with COVID-19-related delays, projects’ finances would still work. 
 
Walter also explains how allowing project investors to take the tax credit as a direct cash payment would also shore up clean energy development. In the 2009 stimulus package, one such program providing direct pay awarded almost $40 billion to more than 91,000 projects, supporting $69 billion in total government and private investment. 
 
These tax fixes should be included in the next relief packages to preserve existing clean energy projects, save thousands of jobs, and preserve the progress we’ve made in decarbonizing our economy.

Also, don’t forget to register for our May 14 interactive web panel on “Ensuring Environmental Justice During the COVID-19 Recovery” here.