What does the Democrats' climate plan have to say about environmental justice?

The very first paragraph of the report's very first page mentions the killing of George Floyd, as the authors attempt to not only connect this report to the broader reckoning moment on race we're currently in, but position the document as a tool to directly address the systemic racism being protested on the streets.

"This report offers policy recommendations that address the urgency of the climate crisis and begin to repair the legacy of environmental pollution that has burdened low-income communities and communities of color for decades," the plan states. "Climate solutions must have justice and equity at their core."

What are some of those policy recommendations?

The plan is structured around twelve policy "pillars":

1. Invest in infrastructure to build a just, equitable, and resilient clean energy economy.

2. Drive innovation and deployment of clean energy and deep decarbonization technologies.

3. Transform U.S. industry and expand domestic manufacturing on clean energy and zero-emission technologies.

4. Break down barriers for clean energy technologies.

5. Invest in America's workers and build a fairer economy.

6. Invest in disproportionately exposed communities to cut pollution and advance environmental justice.

7. Improve public health and manage climate risks to health infrastructure.

8. Invest in American agriculture for climate solutions.

9. Make U.S. communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

10. Protect and restore America's lands, waters, ocean, and wildlife.

11. Confront climate risks to America's national security and restore America's leadership on the international stage.

12.  Strengthen America's core institutions to facilitate climate action.

Each pillar has multiple subsections, and each subsection has its own lengthy list of policies.

Clearly many of these pillars, if implemented, would have a tremendously positive effect on environmental justice, like investing in workers (and providing them the opportunity to build more power by forming unions), improving public health and making communities more resilient to climate change's many impacts.

For our purposes, let's take a quick look at that sixth pillar, literally the "central" pillar, to see some examples of the environmental justice-related policies.

The report maintains that Congress should make environmental justice a "cornerstone of climate policy" by:

• Directing Congress and federal agencies to consult environmental justice communities early and often when drafting policies that would affect their health and livelihoods.

• Strengthening enforcement of cornerstone environmental laws in environmental justice communities;

• Creating a private right of action under the Civil Rights Act for disparate pollution impacts;

• Directing the Environmental Protection Agency to consider cumulative pollution impacts in its implementation of environmental laws.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. To ensure that federal climate policy actually achieves justice, the plan would have Congress direct the National Academies of Sciences as well as individual states to study and assess the disparate impacts of climate policies.

Other policy recommendations include supporting energy efficiency in low-income communities, reducing pollution, strengthening the resilience of communities and ensuring access to healthy food systems.

What's the takeaway?

According to the non-partisan think tank Energy Innovation, implementing the Climate Crisis Action Plan would avoid 62,000 premature deaths annually by 2050, and would provide nearly $8 trillion in cumulative climate and health benefits through 2050.

There are currently no clear cost estimates for the plan. However, the plan does embrace many of the same tenets as the Green New Deal, which former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said during his primary campaign that he planned on allocating $16.3 trillion to. A recent study from a Stanford University engineering professor found that transitioning America to renewable energy wholly by 2050 would require an upfront investment of $7.8 trillion, but that would help the U.S. avoid $3.1 trillion a year in climate damages.

Hopefully, as it's studied more thoroughly going forward, we can get more concrete examples of the environmental justice benefits should this plan be executed.

"At last, substantive, moral, federal climate policy leadership is emerging from Congress," said Shantha Ready Alonso, executive director of Creation Justice Ministries, which partners with Catholic Climate Covenant. "Christian communities stand ready to advance climate solutions that are not only good for God's creation, but that also foster racial and economic justice."

Of course, while the Democrats are getting some credit for this ambitious plan, the emphasis on environmental justice and racism is the result of decades of activism and advocacy by people of color and frontline communities that have been rightfully demanding a seat at the policy decision-making table.

And we must remember this: none of it will matter if the Republican Party retains control of the Senate and the White House.  

[Jesse Remedios is an EarthBeat staff writer. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @JCRemedios.]