Last week, Massachusetts released its final Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP). @cpealesloan and I are diving in to explore components of the plan. Let’s look at climate justice and a just transition: A short thread. 1/10
Years of racist and classist policies, systems, and practices have oppressed certain groups, making them more vulnerable to crises like climate change. Often these groups include communities of color, Indigenous People, low-income households, or residents with disabilities. 2/10
As we chart the path towards our clean energy future, we have to account for and undo this subjugation. That is the essence of climate justice, which needs to drive our transition off of fossil fuels. 3/10
The state incorporated the principles of #EnvironmentalJustice throughout the final version of the plan. I’m thrilled to see this inclusion: a result of stakeholder feedback and @CLF’s work as part of the Climate Justice Working Group that gave input into the CECP. 4/10
The good: We have an explicit goal to prioritize climate investments in EJ neighborhoods while ensuring that climate solutions don’t displace these residents. We also have goals to electrify the MBTA bus fleet AND increase air quality monitoring. 5/10
The bad: The plan doesn’t include a # goal for clean energy investment in EJ populations, a goal for training veterans and incarcerated people in the new jobs that accompany our transition to a clean energy economy, or a goal to electrify the commuter rail. 6/10
I’m glad to see improvements to the CECP. But clearly, our work isn’t done yet. 7/10
@CLF will continue our work on #ClimateJustice. We’ll continue to call for a minimum percent of investments in #EnvironmentalJustice communities, partner with people most impacted to get transportation improvements, and prevent unjust siting of energy and waste facilities 8/10
I’ll echo my colleague @cpealesloan here, when we delay the systems-level changes needed to solve the climate crisis, it costs us our health and our dollars. 9/10
Check out @cpealesloan for another deep dive into the CECP. 10/10
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