Biden-Harris Administration Actions on Environmental Justice
Across the federal government, agencies are working to deliver clean air, clean water, clean up legacy pollution, and help create healthy environments for all communities.
Executive Order on tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad
During his first week in office, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, launching the most ambitious environmental justice agenda ever undertaken by the federal government. The executive order recognizes that all Americans deserve to live in healthy, thriving communities, and that, in fact, this has not been the reality for too many people who still need access to safe places to live, work, play, grow, and learn.
The Justice40 Initiative
For the first time in our nation’s history, the federal government has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. The federal government has created a tool, the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool or CEJST, to make this a reality. Now, more than 500 programs across 19 federal agencies are being reimagined and transformed to reach this goal.
Executive Order on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All
To continue delivering on the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in our nation’s history, the President signed an executive order further embedding environmental justice into the work of federal agencies to achieve real, measurable progress that communities can count on.
White House Office of Environmental Justice
President Biden established an office within the White House to coordinate federal efforts that help ensure communities have access to clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment. The White House Office of Environmental Justice is housed within the Council on Environmental Quality.
White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council
The President’s White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council is made up of leaders from agencies across the federal government who are coordinating and collaborating on a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice.
White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council
Environmental justice has always been a community-driven movement. To ensure the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of communities with environmental justice concerns are heard in the White House and reflected in federal priorities, policies, investments, and decision-making, President Biden created a council made up of individuals with a wide range of backgrounds from every corner of the country to provide advice and recommendations on environmental justice.