On April 21, 2023, President Biden signed an executive order (EO) to advance environmental justice initiatives. The EO directs federal agencies to address inequities in environmental hazards through community engagement, interagency coordination, advancement in science, data, and research, and more. To develop a strategy to fill environmental justice data and research gaps, the EO also establishes a new Environmental Justice Subcommittee within the National Science and Technology Council, led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). This new subcommittee will work closely with the Air Quality and Community Health Research Subcommittee (ACRS), to improve the resilience of marginalized and underserved communities to the health and environmental impacts of pollution and climate change. ACRS is led collaboratively by NOAA, EPA, and NIEHS and co-chaired by CPO’s Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle and Climate (AC4) Program Manager Monika Kopacz, with Greg Frost as the alternate. The actions outlined in the EO aim to promote the Justice40 Initiative, which seeks to deliver 40% of the benefits of federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities, and improve resilience to environmental and health impacts from pollution and climate change that disproportionately affect marginalized and underserved communities.
Read the executive order Fact Sheet »
