What is Environmental Justice?
Keith Hall, LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Brian Snyder, LSU Department of Environmental Sciences
Greg Upton, LSU Center for Energy Studies
In 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order (EO) 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. While the executive order’s focus is climate change, one notable component is the Justice40 Initiative, a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits from certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities. As a result, grantmaking agencies are now considering the community benefits associated with proposed projects.
Because of Justice40, an understanding of EJ, and how a project might promote EJ for local communities, is critical for many federally funded projects. EJ is also important for all businesses and industries to understand as it impacts their social licenses to operate and can impact the ability to make future investments.