Items

• Publication: Analysis of proposed carbon capture projects in the US power sector and co-location with environmental justice communities

  "This paper is a spatial analysis of CCS projects proposed for the power sector and their co-location with EJ communities. Compiling a proposed project list from four CCS databases, we found that 33 of the 35 projects were located in EJ communities, and that additionally, 423 of the 497 (or 85%) EJ census block groups located within three miles of at least one proposed project currently face heightened environmental stress. These results illustrate both the feasibility and the necessity of analyzing the co-location of proposed CCS buildout in EJ communities, and add to the nascent body of literature evaluating the impacts of carbon management technologies such as CCS on these communities."
• Report: Carbon Capture and Sequestration & Environmental Justice White Paper

  This white paper provides a summary of evidence demonstrating the threatsposed by CCS and hydrogen co-firing to environmental justice communities in the United States.
• Report: Mandatory Emissions Reductions for Climate Mitigation in the Power Sector

  Report with case studies from New Jersey, Deleware, and Minnesota on the siting of power plants in burdened communities.
• Publication: Climate Justice Futures: Carbon Management Risks and Alternatives

  Published article in the Journal of Climate Resilience & Climate Justice about how US-bssed carbon management approaches affect Environmental Justice (EJ) communities.
• Letter: EPA Greenhouse Gas Rule Comments

  These are comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the EPA’s proposed “New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and Reconstructed Fossil Fuel–Fired Electric Generating Units; Emissions Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Existing Fossil Fuel–Fired Electric Generating Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule.”
• Video: Developing Cumulative Impacts Permitting Protections Webinar Recording

  Spurred by the leadership of Environmental Justice advocates, states are increasingly engaging in policymaking to respond to the cumulative environmental and social burdens faced by EJ communities. During this webinar, we shared key findings from a first-of-its-kind policy review and database designed to support the integration of cumulative impacts into state environmental permitting frameworks. Advocates from three leading states shared insights on how they’re advancing cumulative impacts policies at various stages of development. We took a critical look at the growing wave of state policies aimed at addressing cumulative impacts in environmental permitting.
• Video: 2023 MER Webinar

  Across the United States, fossil fuel infrastructure emits toxic air pollution and planet-warming greenhouse gases that drive climate change. Low-income communities and communities of color bear the brunt of both, living on the front lines of impacts from climate change as well as suffering the harms of localized co-pollutants, like particular matter and nitrous oxides, emitted by nearby facilities. A just and equitable climate mitigation policy for the power sector must make the elimination of the sector’s outsized impact on these environmental justice (EJ) communities an explicit goal. A new joint report by Dr. Nicky Sheats of the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research (Kean University) and members of the Tishman Environment and Design Center, lays out a framework for a policy to require mandatory emissions reductions (MER) of power sector pollution in EJ communities, and applies it to three state case studies: New Jersey, Minnesota, and Delaware.
• Report: White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Recommendations from the Carbon Management Workgroup

  The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) represents urgent initial recommendations on carbon management, highlighting regulatory, data, and risk challenges. Key recommendations include halting carbon management investments, clarifying federal initiatives, reviewing associated risks, ensuring transparent communication, and securing informed consent from affected environmental justice communities. WHEJAC plans ongoing review and requests specific responses at its December 2023 public meeting. This report of recommendations has been written as part of the activities of the WHEJAC, a public advisory committee providing independent advice and recommendations on the issue of environmental justice to the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and to the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council (IAC). Dr. Ana I. Baptista was on the Carbon Management Workgroup and contributed to these recommendations.
• Report: White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Recommendations - Scorecard Workgroup

  This document presents recommendations from the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Environmental Justice Interagency Council (IAC) to inform Phase Two of the Environmental Justice (EJ) Scorecard. It recognizes the contributions of the Scorecard Workgroup members in developing the report and continuing efforts to advance federal accountability in environmental justice such as Peggy Shepard, Maria López-Núñez, LaTricea Adams, Dr. Beverly Wright, Jerome Foster II, Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch, Harold Mitchell, and Michele Roberts. Dr. Yukyan Lam, Research Director at the Tishman Center, was an external contributor.
• Report: White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council Recommendations - Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) Workgroup

  This document contains recommendations from the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regarding the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). It acknowledges CEQ’s responsiveness to previous feedback and reaffirms the Tool’s purpose: identifying underserved and overburdened communities to guide Justice40 investments. The recommendations support the continued refinement of CEJST ahead of its Version 2.0 release and future updates as new data becomes available. WHEJAC acknowledges the efforts of the CEJST Workgroup in preparing this report such as co-chairs Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch and Dr. Nicky Sheats, along with Jade Begay, Jerome Foster II, Juan Parras, LaTricea Adams, Michele Roberts, Tom Cormons, and Vi Waghiyi. Dr. Yukyan Lam, Research Director at the Tishman Center provided comments on the recommendations.
• Report: WHEJAC Recommendations on Climate Planning, Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Impacts

  The White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) submitted its final report to White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory and President Joseph R. Biden, offering recommendations on a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice, including climate change, disaster preparedness, and community planning. WHEJAC emphasized that their recommendations are a starting point for deeper, transformational change and rejected the overuse of the term "resilience," noting that it can be used to ignore communities’ needs. The report underscores the urgent and unequal impacts of climate change, especially on communities already burdened by poverty, pollution, and systemic inequality. Tishman Center prepared a literature review for WHEJAC members as preparation for the report.
• Letter and Report: White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council's Carbon Management Recommendations

  Letter and Report from WHEJAC co-chairs Richard Moore and Peggy M. Shepard, on behalf of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC) to provide recommendations on carbon management strategies must not harm disadvantaged communities. Its recommendations prioritize human rights, health, and inclusive decision-making. WHEJAC stresses that environmental justice is essential to effective climate action and rejects any federal actions that create new injustice. Dr. Ana I. Baptista was part of the Carbon Management Workgroup.
• Publication: Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad

  Executive Order 14008 by Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad was signed on January 27, 2021. The executive order outlined the Biden Administration’s plans to center the climate crisis in United States foreign policy and national security, as well as implement a government-wide approach to reduce climate pollution across all sectors of the economy, strengthen climate resilience, protect public health, conserve land and biodiversity, deliver environmental justice, and create jobs and economic growth. Executive Order 14008 also established the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and its body of work, to which Tishman Center staff contributed as recognized external advisors, as well as public commenters.
• Report: The Cost of Burning Trash

  The Cost of Burning Trash. Looking at the Human and Ecological Impacts of incineration in Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. A collaborative research report created by the research team at the Tishman Center in consultation with GAIA and Moja Robisnon.
• Report: U.S. Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators

  Report: U.S. Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators. This report examines three major economic vulnerabilities in the MSW incinerator industry. This report was prepared by Ana Isabel Baptista, PhD, and Adrienne Perovich, MPA, with assistance from Amanda Sachs, Anna Yulsman, Brandon Jordan, Claudia Rot, and Kevin Capuno, Research Assistants at the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School with support granted by Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) in collaboration with Ahmina Maxey. Contributors to the report include Doun Moon, Aiko Fukichi, Claire Arkin, Denise Patel, and Monica Wilson at GAIA as well as Destiny Watford at United Workers, KT Andresky at Breathe Free Detroit, and Whitney Amaya at East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.
• Report: Environmental Justice and Philanthropy: Challenges and Opportunities for Alignment Gulf South and Midwest Case Studies

  Environmental Justice and Philanthropy: Challenges and Opportunities for Alignment Gulf South and Midwest Case Studies. This final published report was prepared by Ana Isabel Baptista, Ph.D., and Adrienne Perovich, MPA, with assistance from Anna Yulsman, Program Coordinator, as well as doctoral students, Molly Greenberg, and Jennifer Santos Ramirez, who serve as research assistants at the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School.
• Report: Local Policies for Environmental Justice

  Local Policies for Environmental Justice is a report that provides a comprehensive look at recent efforts in 23 cities, three counties and two utilities across the United States to address environmental injustices through innovative reforms of zoning, land use, and other local policies. It was prepared by Ana Isabel Baptista, PhD, with assistance from Amanda Sachs and Claudia Rot, Research Assistants at the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School. Contributors to the report include Meleah Geertsma, Senior Attorney and the Midwest Director for Health Equity and Water at the Natural Resources Defense Council. This is the final published version of the report.
• Report: False Solutions for Just Climate Mitigation and Clean Energy Policies

  False Solutions for Just Climate Mitigation and Clean Energy Policies is a report prepared by Ana Isabel Baptista, Ph.D., and Jennifer Ventrella, Ph.D. student at the New School and research assistant at the Tishman Center for Environment and Design, and was released in September, 2022. The report draws on a review of policies and interviews with community leaders to explore how false solutions are present or emerging in the energy policies New Jersey, Delaware, and Minnesota.
• Report: Understanding the Evolution of Cumulative Impacts Definitions and Policies in the U.S.

  This report, titled "Understanding the Evolution of Cumulative Impacts Definitions and Policies in the U.S.," and released in August, 2022, was prepared by Ana Isabel Baptista, Ph.D., Adrienne Perovich, MPA, and Tishman Environment and Design Center research assistants Maria Fernanda Pulido-Velosa, Enrique Valencia, Marisa Valdez, and Jennifer Ventrella. The research detailed in this report is aimed at supporting environmental justice movement stakeholders and policymakers with a searchable tool of definitions, methodologies, indicators, and thresholds used in statewide cumulative impact policies developed at the time of the report's release.
• Report: Equitable and Just National Climate Platform Justice40 Recommendations

  This report contains Justice40 recommendations that emerged from convenings of environmental justice (EJ) advocates, academic experts, and national environmental groups on December 2, 2020, and January 27, 2021, organized by The Equitable and Just National Climate Forum, the New School’s Tishman Environment and Design Center, and the Center for American Progress. The report recommends actions for the Biden administration to take to implement the goal of delivering 40 percent of overall benefits from climate investments to disadvantaged communities, as outlined in Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.
• Report: Climate Justice in Action: Communities Working Toward Just Transitions

  Report titled "Climate Justice in Action: Communities Working Towards Just Transitions," prepared in collaboration with the Climate Justice Alliance and sponsored by the Tishman Environment and Design Center at the New School. Released in January 2016, this report highlights best practices, community-centered strategies, and overarching lessons gleaned from eight grassroots climate justice organizations working to achieve a just transition.
• Report: Environmental Justice and The Clean Power Plan: The Case of Energy Efficiency

  Report titled "Environmental Justice and The Clean Power Plan: The Case of Energy Efficiency," by Cecilia Martinez, PhD, co-founder of the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED). The report was created as part of a Visiting Scholars Series on the environmental justice implications of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan rule. This paper examines environmental justice issues of the Clean Power Plan, specifically with respect to energy efficiency.
• Report: Garbage, Power, and Environmental Justice: The Clean Power Plan Rule

  Report titled "Garbage, Power, and Environmental Justice: The Clean Power Plan Rule," by Ana Isabel Baptista, PhD and Kumar Kartik Amarnath, MS, released in April 2016, was created as part of a Visiting Scholars Series on the environmental justice implications of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan rule. The report examines waste incineration under the Clean Power Plan rule, and how the rule may impact environmental justice communities.
• Remarks: Ana Isabel Baptista's Testimony to the House Select Committee 2020

  Testimony of Ana Isabel Baptista to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis in 2020, regarding the Committee's Climate Crisis Action Plan and ways to invest and prioritize spending in environmental justice communities.
• Remarks: Michelle DePass' Testimony on the Clean Power Plan

  Michelle DePass' testimony on the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan in 2017.