The Environmental Protection Agency prioritised environmental justice for four years, improving health in heavily polluted Black, Latino, and low-income areas. Now that brief phase is past.
In his first week, President Donald Trump fired a team of White House aides that ensured the federal government aided towns near heavy industries, ports, and roads. Trump ended the Biden administration’s “Justice40” effort. It mandated 40% of environmental program benefits for hard-hit communities.
When the government assesses new facilities now, experts believe they may neglect how their pollution may worsen community problems. Trump may withdraw climate and environmental justice funding from the Biden administration’s main climate measure, the Inflation Reduction Act.
This week, Trump reversed Clinton-era federal policy that prioritised environmental health for low-income and minority communities. The nation also left the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
