The Race and Energy Nexus

Our entire country is engaged in a broad and long-overdue examination of the roles that race and racism play in our society – our legal system, workforce, communities, politics, schools and more. Race also plays a role in energy – who has access to it, how much they pay for it, who works in the energy industry, who lives near our power plants, and who has a seat at the table to determine energy choices that town, city, state and federal governments make on our behalf.

This paper examines three broad categories of the race and energy nexus:

Environmental Justice and Refinery Pollution

A 2015 federal Clean Air Act rule requires oil refineries to install air pollution monitors at their boundaries to identify benzene emissions escaping into surrounding neighborhoods. Whenever the monitoring results show that benzene levels at refinery fencelines average more than nine micrograms per cubic meter above background levels over a year, the 2015 rule requires the refinery to investigate and take action by cleaning up the emission sources causing the problem.

Thirteen refineries exceeded EPA’s “action level” in 2020 for the 12 months ending on December 31, 2020, reporting annual benzene concentrations that range from 9.36 micrograms to more than …

Four Things to Know about Environmental Justice

Environmental justice (EJ) has become a driving theme in the mainstream energy and climate policy discourse, and EJ considerations have been at the forefront of the most substantial energy, climate, environmental, and infrastructure policy and personnel decisions of the new Biden-Harris administration. What does environmental justice mean, how has it evolved in recent years, and how might environmental justice guiding concepts, analytical frameworks, and goals become actionable policy under this administration?

Authors Clinton Britt, Andrea Clabough, and David Goldwyn address these questions in their new issue brief “Four things to know about environmental justice,” in which they provide an overview …

Solar Industry Policy Principles on Environmental Justice & Equity

Public policy and government action, whether at the local, state, or federal level, will be critical to tackling the climate crisis and building a clean energy future in America. As an industry that deploys clean, reliable, affordable electricity, SEIA recognizes the critical role for environmental justice in these policy discussions, and the need for climate solutions to take into account the disproportionate impacts felt by frontline communities.

The transition to a clean energy economy must be centered around justice and equity for all Americans and support communities that have historically been left behind by environmental policies. But we can only …

Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (LA100)

To combat climate change while capturing health and economic benefits, the City of Los Angeles has set ambitious goals to transform its electricity supply, aiming for a 100% renewable energy power system by 2045, along with a push to electrify the buildings and transportation sectors. To reach these goals, and assess the implications for jobs, electricity rates, the environment, and environmental justice, the Los Angeles City Council passed a series of motions in 2016 and 2017 directing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to determine the technical feasibility and investment pathways of a 100% renewable energy …

Clean Jumpstart 2021: A Roadmap for Realizing President Biden’s $2 Trillion Clean Energy & Infrastructure Investment Vision

President Biden and Vice President Harris campaigned and won on a bold Build Back Better plan that called for a $2 trillion investment in “modern, sustainable infrastructure and an equitable clean energy economy.” Clean Jumpstart 2021 is a manual for how Congress can realize President Biden’s vision.

The report details $2.3 trillion in investments—in 39 different action steps— that will deliver on climate, jobs, and justice. Federal lawmakers should seize this opportunity. 

In order to build a just and sustainable clean energy economy, the investments in Clean Jumpstart 2021 must be made equitably, in line with President Biden’s commitment to …

Waste Management and the Energy Transition: The Path to Sustainability and a Circular Economy

Integrating a life-cycle dimension into future policies to assess the social, environmental and economic implications of various products across their life cycle and throughout their value chain is critical to achieving sustainability and a circular economy, writes Rachel A. Meidl, fellow in energy and environment.

Global energy and environmental challenges have spurred an increased focus on sustainable sources of energy while global investments in the green energy sector have surged. Low-carbon, “zero” emission technology and scientific advancements required to facilitate the energy transition—such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems—are pivotal …

Summary of the President-Elect Biden Climate and Clean Energy Plans

As part of his campaign, President-elect Biden released two plans relating to climate and clean energy: the Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice (“the Climate Plan”) and the Plan to Build a Modern, Sustainable Infrastructure and an Equitable Clean Energy Future (“the Clean Energy Plan”).  In addition, the President-elect highlighted climate change as one of four priorities of the Biden-Harris transition (Climate Transition Plan).…

High energy burden and low-income energy affordability: conclusions from a literature review

This review describes the ecosystem of stakeholders and programs, and identifies promising opportunities to address low-income energy affordability, such as behavioral economics, data analytics, and leveraging health care benefits. Scalable approaches require linking programs and policies to tackle the complex web of causes and impacts faced by financially constrained households.…

The Race Gap in Residential Energy Expenditures

Black households have higher residential energy expenditures than white households in the US. This residential energy expenditure gap persists after controlling for income, household size, homeowner status, and city of residence. It decreased but did not disappear between 2010 and 2017, and it is fairly stable in levels across the income distribution, except at the top. Controlling for home type or vintage does not eliminate the gap, but survey evidence on housing characteristics and available appliances is consistent with the gap being driven at least in part by differences in housing stock and related energy efficiency investments.…