Assistance to Fossil Fuel-Dependent Communities Included in Environmental Justice Bill

The transition of the global energy system away from fossil fuels is already happening, and the proportion of clean power in the energy mix is only projected to increase. Changing the nation’s energy sources is key to mitigating climate change, but, in the process, one must ensure that all groups and communities are able to benefit from the transition. The Environmental Justice for All Act (H.R.5986), introduced into the House Committee on Natural Resources on February 27, seeks to assist transitioning workers and communities, in addition to pursuing several other environmental justice goals. For more details on the process used to develop the bill as well as its other provisions, click here.

A major component of the bill, as described in its accompanying press release, is assistance to communities transitioning away from an economic dependence on fossil fuels. The legislation would create a Federal Energy Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund to be funded through fees on oil, coal, and gas companies. The majority of the fund (70 percent) would be distributed directly to states in which fossil fuel extraction has historically occurred or is occurring, and 30 percent would be distributed through a competitive grant program.

At the state level, eligible uses of program funds include restoring land impacted by extraction and mining, providing technical assistance for economic development in fossil-fuel dependent communities, financial support for displaced fossil fuel workers, natural carbon sequestration projects on public lands, and expanding broadband infrastructure. The grant program would be open to state, local, and tribal governments, nonprofits, labor unions, economic development agencies, and community colleges. Funds from the grant program could be used for job retraining and apprenticeship programs, internship and academic programs in renewable energy, and projects to diversify local economies and create jobs in non-fossil fuel industries.

Such a fund would support communities and workers that are already experiencing economic destabilization from the transition away from fossil fuels. For example, the economies of many Appalachian communities have historically depended on coal, and, as plants close, workers are left without jobs. At a national level, the job losses in the coal industry are offset by new jobs in renewable energy, but these new jobs are not typically located in the same region as the ones that are lost. This geographic disconnect between energy jobs lost and jobs created means that assistance to transitioning coal communities must focus on diversifying local economies so that they do not depend solely on one industry.

The Statement of Principles for Environmental Justice Legislation, developed through collaboration between the Natural Resources Committee and over 200 leaders in the environmental justice movement at the June 2019 Congressional Convening on Environmental Justice, emphasizes assistance to communities working toward an economic transition. According to the Statement of Principles, workforce transition is a critical component of environmental justice because certain communities are impacted more severely by reductions in fossil fuel extraction. Assistance to local economies also provides an opportunity to remedy past environmental hazards by helping communities transition into industries that are safer for workers. As indicated by this legislation, broad considerations of environmental justice—from indigenous communities in South Dakota to coal country in Kentucky—are instrumental in advancing an equitable, decarbonized future.

 

Author: Abby Neal