Posted on 04/21/2023 9:54:06 AM PDT by Red Badger
President Joe Biden's latest climate action is intended to erase a legacy of institutional discrimination, which has led to underinvestment in climate infrastructure and other critical services in minority districts across the country.
April 21 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Friday to protect the environment and other vital resources in minority communities as part of a series of announcements this week to highlight government efforts to fight climate change.
The president's latest action on the environment, ahead of Earth Day on Saturday, was primarily intended to address a legacy of institutional discrimination, which has led to underinvestment in climate infrastructure and other critical services in many disadvantaged areas.
"These communities with environmental justice concerns face even greater burdens due to climate change," the White House said.
Biden's action will immediately work to reduce toxic pollution and deliver cleaner air and water to these areas to reduce the risk of asthma, cancer and other health-related issues, while creating better access to safe and affordable housing, green spaces and clean-running transportation, the White House said.
The order was intended to demonstrate Biden's commitment to the idea of environmental justice for all Americans.
"With this action, the president is working to ensure that all people -- regardless of race, background, income, ability, Tribal affiliation, or ZIP code -- can benefit from the vital safeguards enshrined in our nation's foundational environmental and civil rights laws," the White House said. "It also affirms that environmental justice is central to the implementation of our bedrock civil rights and environmental laws."
Most notably, the order establishes the creation of the Office of Environmental Justice within the White House Council on Environmental Quality and adds agencies to the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council.
The new office will be led by a yet-to-be-named federal chief environmental justice officer, who will coordinate and implement environmental justice policy across the federal government.
As part of the executive order, all government departments and agencies will also be required to incorporate Biden's environmental goals into their existing protocols as the administration takes a "whole-of-government" approach to environmental justice.
The order includes a provision to prevent disproportionate climate impacts on poor communities and will require federal agencies to notify residents in the event of a toxic spill.
Biden was seeking to strengthen federal engagement with local communities by requiring public meetings to share information on health risks and necessary precautions during environmental emergencies.
The order will also mobilize government agencies to confront existing barriers and injustices, which would open the door to meaningful public participation and give disadvantaged communities a voice in federal decision-making, the White House said.
The order was intended to target the illegal practice of redlining, in which banks and financial institutions refuse to provide credit services or mortgages to people from communities of color.
Biden is also directing his agencies to identify and address any loopholes in research related to environmental justice and to coordinate a strategy for identifying and filing environmental justice data. The agencies are also required to update existing environmental strategic plans to match up with Biden's goals.
The Environmental Protection Agency was also set to release a national strategy to combat plastic pollution and its disparate impact on disadvantaged communities, the White House said.
The announcement of Biden's executive order was timed to coincide with Earth Week, during which Vice President Kamala Harris and other Cabinet officials will hold several events to announce progress being made under the president's domestic agenda.
The Investing in America initiative has created new clean energy jobs, lowered industrial costs and advanced climate goals and conservation, while "strengthening communities that for too long were left behind or left out," the White House said.
The latest environmental action builds on Executive Order 14008 -- signed days after Biden took office in 2021 -- which ramped up federal climate efforts as the most pressing matter facing U.S. foreign policy and national security.
Efforts to curtail the climate crisis have gained steam around the world, with numerous climate summits and Biden forming the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in April 2021 to help galvanize the response.
Friday's executive action aligns with Biden's broader climate agenda, which calls for a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero vehicle emissions by no later than 2050.
Also this week, Biden announced $1 billion to help developing countries address emerging environmental concerns during a global climate forum at the White House.
Is Rachel Levine running for POTUS?
You never know nowadays if Biden gets shoved aside watch out I think Newsom and Hillary are front row but the radical rainbow mob may want something more to their liking.
What exactly is “climate infrastructure”? Do they mean giving out free window a/c units for de pooooor? Thus protecting their “climate”?
What utter Bull crap! Underserved... in climate infrastructure... and they don’t define it, but the peeps there can define it— gibs me de cash man!
Joe Biden Targets Minority Communities With Punitive Climate Restrictions
Henceforth, all refineries, plastic plants, power plants and factories will be sited on Martha’s Vineyard, Atherton, and Palm Beach.
Their message is always the same. Fake solution that goes on forever and ever.
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