Environmental & Social Justice

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Despite the pandemic, green banks in the U.S. mobilized more investment in 2020 than any previous year, according to the annual report of the American Green Bank Consortium released last week. The consortium’s 21 green bank members spurred $1.7 billion in investments last year with just $442 million of funds.

Fulfilling the goals of New York’s 2019 landmark climate law, according to some, will require more aggressive action than has been proposed already. Public appointees of the state’s Climate Action Council on Thursday gave legislators their reactions to the advisory panel recommendations that will inform a scoping plan for emission...

Women have a significant role to play in driving the rapid change needed to create a sustainable and equitable society, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told members of New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) on Thursday. "We need your voice, and we need more women leaders,"...

The Vermont Climate Council is considering delaying the release of the Climate Action Plan that it is directed by statute to adopt this fall. If the council interprets its statutory requirement "to produce a Climate Action Plan on Dec. 1 as producing a draft plan," it could take a few...

President Biden’s opening bid on the 2022 budget makes good on his promise to use a "whole of government" approach to address climate change, calling for an additional $14 billion in "climate change investments." Biden’s $1.5 trillion discretionary budget request released Friday is an attempt to reverse a decade of...

The town of West Hartford, Conn., is struggling to bring diverse voices to its new all-volunteer Sustainability Advisory Group. The Town Council passed a resolution in February to form the group as a civilian task force to support town staff. Officials want the membership to "reflect West Hartford’s diversity and...

President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan has plenty for clean energy advocates of all stripes to like. For transmission advocates, the plan includes an investment tax credit aimed at building 20 GW of high voltage lines; for the solar industry, a 10-year extension of a direct-pay ITC for solar and...

Implementing Virginia’s ambitious environmental justice goals could cost the state millions of dollars and require hiring dozens of new full-time employees, as well as consultants, according to a new report from the Interagency Environmental Justice Working Group. The 44-page report did not specify a dollar amount, but a majority of...

2020 was the year when clean tech, like other business sectors across the country, was put on notice that talking about diversity in the workplace was not enough. The Black Lives Matter movement that erupted in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd shifted the industry’s focus to action...

The global energy transition must move more swiftly and provide generous employment opportunities so that workers in vulnerable communities aren’t left reeling from the accompanying economic disruption, a panel of experts said Tuesday. The Center for Strategic and International Studies and Climate Investment Funds gathered panelists for a webinar entitled...