The Need for Justice40
This Earth Day, we must recognize what policymakers have so often failed to: environmental racism.
From air and water pollution to natural disasters, environmental and climate-related impacts have always hurt disadvantaged communities the most—the legacy of racist policies and entrenched power disparities. As the climate transition unfolds, that pattern will continue unless government takes proactive measures.
The Biden administration’s Justice40 policy is one such measure. Part of a January 2021 executive order, it established a federal goal that 40 percent of climate-related investments be targeted to benefit communities experiencing the repercussions of environmental racism and the greatest risks from climate change.
In a new report, Roosevelt Deputy Director of Climate Policy Lew Daly examines the policy from a budgetary perspective. His analysis points to misalignment between Justice40’s anti-racist goals and other federal policies, underscoring the need to adhere to Justice40 goals and principles in all federal spending.
“As it becomes increasingly clear that public investment and intervention are essential for protecting us from climate catastrophe, the old adage that budgets are moral documents will meet its sternest test,” Daly writes.
“If we pass the test on climate, whether the communities most harmed by the fossil fuel economy are included and uplifted in our newly invested zero-emissions future is the transformative question Justice40 asks of policymakers and advocates alike.”
Read more about the report in “A New Administrative Architecture for Justice40,” authored by Daly and Roosevelt Director of Climate Policy Rhiana Gunn-Wright.
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