Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Calls on President Biden to Step Up Protections for Communities Targeted for Increased Pollution in the Inflation Reduction Act
Aug 16, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 16, 2022NEW ORLEANS, LA – Following President Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act, Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), released the following statement:
"The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes positive benefits that are responsive to the needs of families, but its funding for dirty energy puts a target on Black and other communities of color harmed by pollution in the Gulf Coast and across the United States. Instead of funding the transition away from fossil fuel production, the IRA incentivizes it. Among these incentives are billions of dollars for carbon waste projects without regard for their risks to communities and record of failure to mitigate climate change.
"The Environmental Justice community is no stranger to setbacks, and we are already planning our next steps forward. Our efforts will be centered on engaging regulators and policymakers, as well as taking court action, to prevent polluting facilities from ever coming online. In collaboration with our partners, we will apply science, collect data and bring advocacy to ensure that our communities receive the justice they deserve.
"I call on President Biden to deliver on his promise to our communities who are fighting for environmental and climate justice. This means stepping up action to enforce civil rights laws against environmental racism, inform the public on the risks of carbon waste projects, and secure a just transition away from dirty energy that restores overburdened communities and sustains future generations.”
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About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.