Friend,

My name is Raya Salter. I am an energy attorney, educator, activist, a Black woman, and an Evergreen advisory board member. I'm also a member of the New York State Climate Action Council, where I'm working to implement New York State's climate law.

Thanks to the tireless contributions of environmental justice groups, New York has some of the nation's most ambitious and just state climate goals—the kind that Evergreen is pushing for nationally.

New York law requires protecting and investing in the communities that pollution and climate change have harmed the most. In fact, it was the New York law, powered by grassroots activists, that provided the blueprint for the Biden-Harris climate plan requirement that 40% of climate investments be directed to environmental justice communities.

How do we identify those communities? In New York, the law requires a diverse stakeholder process that includes the use of a data-driven tool called equity mapping—and it holds a lot of promise for delivering climate justice nationwide.

Want to learn about what states have learned through equity mapping and how we can scale it up nationally? Read Evergreen's equity mapping policy memo, produced in partnership with Dēmos, today!

Racial and social justice is climate justice. Working to make New York a national leader for just climate action has been some of my most important lifework. I can't wait to see where equity mapping, community investment, and climate protection can take us, and I look forward to pushing it to the top of America's agenda with you.

Thank you,

Raya Salter, Esq.
Evergreen Advisory Board Member