Federal Policy
Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in Frontline Communities: Opportunities and Shortcomings
In 2023, Just Solutions published “The Perfect Storm of Extraction, Poverty, and Climate Change,” examining the impact of policies on six frontline communities facing economic, health, and environmental challenges. The report highlights how systemic racism and resource deprivation have led to these conditions, and it evaluates how the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the…
Webinar: Leading with Race in Climate Solutions: Legal Attacks & Pathways Forward
This webinar shared how the opponents of racial justice are mounting legal attacks on Leading with Race and what we can do about it. We learned what is legal, what isn’t, and how to win policies that center racial justice in climate solutions. Leading With Race in Climate Solutions is a collaborative project of Just…
Environmental justice recommendations for the hydrogen production tax credit
Among the various uncapped energy tax credits that form the core of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), none has been more heavily contested than 45V, the hydrogen production tax credit. This credit, newly created by the IRA, allows hydrogen producers to claim credits for every kilogram of “qualified clean hydrogen” produced. The credit amounts range…
Webinar: EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund & Green Financing 101 Webinar:
EPA’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) will provide competitive grants to finance clean energy and climate projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As the “single largest investment in clean energy, environmental justice, and carbon pollution reduction in American history,” what are the impacts and opportunities for community-based organizations? The GGRF Best Practices Alliance…
FEMA Proposes Rule Change that is a Step Toward Equity and Improving Access
On January 22, FEMA released an Interim Final Rule that proposes significant modifications to their Individual Assistance (IA) Program that provides financial assistance and direct services to eligible individuals and households affected by presidentially declared disasters. This change means that disaster survivors will have greater accessibility and more benefits to FEMA assistance. For so long,…
US Treasury Report identifies climate impact on household finances
Black and Latine adults are less able to pay their bills and are more impacted by climate disasters. Living paycheck to paycheck makes any disruptions caused by climate change far more devastating. Efforts to consider vulnerability in the Treasury’s report are missing important contexts, like the barriers for marginalized low-income communities to build generational wealth…
Webinar: What it Really Means to be a Federal Grantee – Accomplishments and Challenges
Emerald Cities Collaborative, The Climate & Clean Energy Equity Fund, and Just Solutions hosted an informative webinar about the experience of applying to and receiving federal funding. As opportunities for federal funding for environmental justice efforts become more available, it is essential that community organizations understand the process and challenges of being a federal grantee.…
National Environmental Policy Act: Recommendations for environmental justice
Earlier this summer, the federal Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that could get us closer to analyzing climate change impacts, addressing the concerns of environmental justice communities, and uplifting the role of Tribal governments. Most notable are revisions that reinstate many of NEPA’s principles and functions…
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Awardee Best Practices for Equity and Governance Pledge
The objective of the GGRF Equity and Governance Best Practices Alliance is to ensure that environmental justice and community-based organizations, representing and made up of frontline communities, are able to have decision-making power in how and where the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) is deployed so that impacted communities are directly benefited.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Climate Action Plan, Reviewed
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Climate Action Plan, Reviewed President Biden’s January 2021 Executive Order 14008 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad) spurred the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to lay out their own Climate Action Plan in November of 2021. The goal of this plan is to ‘address…
