- The Executive Order contains a series of directives requiring all federal agencies to make environmental justice part of its mission by requiring agencies to identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on diverse and low-income populations. The EO requires each federal agency to develop an agency-wide environmental justice strategy.
- The Executive Order also establishes the White House Office of Environmental Justice, which is tasked with coordinating the implementation of environmental justice policy across the federal government, ensuring that federal efforts can evolve alongside our understanding of environmental justice.
- The White House has also established the Phase One of the Environmental Justice Scorecard, the first government-wide assessment of federal agencies’ efforts to advance environmental justice.
- The Executive Order also creates the White House Office of Environmental Justice at Council on Environmental Quality and requires the broadening of research data methodologies to include cumulative impacts and datasets to include more communities of color.
By NBC News | April 21, 2023
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday in an effort to expand on his administration’s environmental justice goals, such as delivering clean air and water to communities nationwide, as he nears an expected announcement for his re-election campaign…
Joined by environmental advocates and community leaders, Biden went through the climate order, which, according to the White House, focuses on communities that are most affected by pollution. It will establish the Office of Environmental Justice at the White House to coordinate the administration’s efforts to implement the new directives.
Biden’s action will also require agencies to notify nearby communities about releases of toxic substances from federal facilities and will direct the agencies to engage with U.S. communities, including those on tribal lands.
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