Warren Unveils Plan to Fight Environmental Racism

[DrFunkenstein]

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday detailed a new environmental justice plan aimed at bolstering and protecting vulnerable communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. The Massachusetts Democrat would direct one-third of her proposed climate investment to the most vulnerable communities, which she writes would funnel at least $1 trillion into those areas over the next decade.

While covering a broad range of policy issues, the post is primarily focused on what her administration would do to prioritize neighborhoods, cities and entire regions with heavy minority populations -- many of them still suffering from the effects of racist policies like redlining, which often placed families of color in harm's way.

Throughout her campaign, Warren has frequently sought to weave in detailed proposals directed specifically at communities of color. Here, she warns that "'one-size-fits-all' solutions," though often well-intentioned, open up space for the exploitation of those minorities and the poor. Because of that, Warren argues, more narrowly "targeted" policies are required.

"The same communities that have borne the brunt of industrial pollution are now on the front lines of climate change, often getting hit first and worst," writes Warren, an early supporter of the sweeping Green New Deal proposal .

Warren on Tuesday tweeted a video filmed during a recent visit to Detroit, where she and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib walk around a zip code that Tlaib refers to as the "most polluted" in the state.

If elected president, Warren writes she would mandate all federal agencies to consider climate impacts in their permitting and rulemaking processes. When tribal nations are involved, Warren writes, projects would not proceed unless "developers have obtained the free, prior and informed consent of the tribal governments concerned."

Warren also would prioritize environmental justice at the presidential level, and transform the Council on Environmental Quality into a Council on Climate Action, which would have a more broad mandate. She writes that a Warren administration would aggressively pursue cases of environmental discrimination, and would fully fund the Centers for Disease Control's environmental health programs.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/09/politics/elizabeth-warren-environmental-justice-plan/index.html

[blm]

1. 👍🏼