Biden Climate Plan Includes NY Renews Frontline Community Investment Framework
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***: July 14 2020
Contact: Arielle Swernoff | (646) 450-5461 | arielle@nyrenews.org
Web: @NYRenews | www.nyrenews.org
Biden Climate Plan Includes NY Renews Frontline Community Investment Framework
Country looks to climate justice leaders in New York State
A portion of the environmental justice plan that Joe Biden unveiled today is modeled on New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Biden’s climate plan includes a mandate that 40% of spending be invested in disadvantaged communities — those that are threatened by the cumulative impacts of the multiple stresses of climate change, economic and racial inequality, and multi-source environmental pollution.
This is a major victory for our grassroots coalition, NY Renews, a multi-sector formation of environmental justice, faith, multi-issue, and labor groups throughout New York State. When we drafted the bill that would later become the CLCPA, members of our coalition knew it was critical to prioritize investments in Black, Indigenous, and communities of color who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. That is why we developed the 40% community investment mandate and the Climate and Equity Screen mechanisms.
A version of the 40% mandate and climate and equity screens are now the law in New York State, and Joe Biden’s latest climate plan has the potential to make these standards a requirement for all climate and energy spending in the United States. How the nation addresses the crises of climate change and environmental inequality will be seeded by solutions on the ground. This is the latest example of leaders looking to New York, our coalition, and grassroots and community leadership for climate justice solutions. We’re proud of our work to advance policy solutions driven by frontline communities, and grateful to see our work for climate justice reach the national stage.
About NY Renews
NY Renews is a coalition of over 200 environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law, New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The coalition fights for good jobs and climate justice in New York State.
###