Friend,

On the campaign trail, Joe Biden made a bold promise to direct 40% of the benefits from clean energy investments to communities that have suffered environmental injustice.

The Council on Environmental Quality just took the first step toward fulfilling this promise—identifying those communities with a new Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

But there's a huge piece missing: The current proposed tool to address environmental racism does not consider race.

Luckily, they just opened a public comment period. This is our chance to encourage their progress and call for a stronger, more just screening tool. Will you join us and sign an official public comment right now? We'll submit it directly to decision-makers for you.

If the Council on Environmental Quality proceeds with the current version of this screening tool, it will have adverse consequences.

By focusing only on criteria like education level and income, the screening tool misses the fact that communities of color face more pollution than their white counterparts at every socioeconomic level.

Take a middle-income Black community that experiences disproportionate pollution, for example. The proposed screening tool wouldn't count this community as disadvantaged and would deny them the funds.

The Biden administration must face environmental racism head-on. Sign an official public comment and make sure this critical new policy achieves its full potential!

Together,

Rachel Patterson
Policy Lead, Evergreen Action