In March 2021, AEC published a blog titled What is missing from Biden’s Climate Plan?, which focused on a $2 trillion plan to tackle climate change. The Administration’s initial commitment while campaigning was to leverage $1.7 trillion over the next ten years into climate and environmental justice. In November 2021, President Biden passed a major $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law (originally the $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan). However, a second proposal, known as the Build Back Better bill invests an additional $1.75 trillion into more sectors, including environment and climate. The Bill was passed by the House of Representatives but remains to be voted on by the Senate; the Democrats’ hope to pass it before the end of December. While the American Jobs Plan focused on improving infrastructure at large—like roads, bridges, airports, and water systems—each component can integrate clean energy and decarbonization strategies, beyond what the Build Back Better Bill is proposing.
Biden’s infrastructure bills, along with his general federal policy plan, has had an emphasis on environmental justice. A press release from the White House emphasized that President Biden was committed to boosting clean energy jobs in order to strengthen resilience and advance environmental justice as a part of his two-part plan. In additional, President Biden signed an executive order his first two weeks into office highlighting the importance of incorporating environmental justice into the work of all agencies, and more recently, in July 2021, the administration announced Justice40, a government-wide initiative to bring clean energy investment to environmental justice communities.
While the American Jobs Plan, now law, does not specifically call upon Justice40, the law integrates environmental justice principles into its energy specific goals. The law dedicates $100 billion towards renovating the electric grid, though cost estimates range closer to $400-$500 billion. Components include building a more resilient electric transmission system, generating clean energy jobs (especially within underserved communities), and fully decommissioning orphan oil and gas wells along with abandoned coal mines. Non-explicit electric grid components that still integrate energy and environment include a push to retrofit homes, commercial and federal buildings, and veterans’ hospitals to make them more energy efficient.
In contrast, the Build Back Better Plan, yet to be made law, mentions Justice40 and has a more specific focus on the energy sector. The plan proposes a $440.2 billion investment into environment and climate, and includes a massive push for renewable electricity tax credits. Other components include domestic building of clean energy technology (citing specifically wind turbine blades, solar panels, and electric cars) in order to stimulate jobs, a Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator with a focus on disadvantaged communities (under the Justice40 initiative), and investment in coastal restoration, forest management, and soil conservation.
In April 2021 the administration announced a target 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in net greenhouse gas pollution for the entire country by 2030. Getting there will require actions like the American Jobs Plan and Build Back Better Plan, with integrations of the Justice40 initiative across the board, to ensure a sustainable, just, and green transition.
