US President Joe Biden signs executive order on 'environmental justice'

Washington: An executive order establishing “environmental justice for all” and enhancing the lives of communities most adversely affected by hazardous pollution and climate change was signed by US President Joe Biden on Friday.

The order compels federal agencies to warn communities if harmful chemicals are discharged from a federal site. It also creates a new Office of Environmental Justice at the White House to coordinate efforts throughout the government.

Disasters like the February derailment of a goods train in East Palestine, Ohio, which resulted in a dangerous chemical spill, have drawn attention to the increased frequency of environmental harm in some regions.

“This is about people’s health. It’s about the health of our communities. It’s only about the future of our planet,” Biden told activists, lawmakers and others before signing the order in the Rose Garden at the White House.

The Democratic president, who could formally announce his re-election bid as early as Tuesday, said the order would deepen work to reverse years of policies - including discriminatory residential ‘redlining’ - that hurt Black and other minority communities.

He railed against Republican efforts to repeal climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, a move he said would undermine work to reduce pollution and advance clean energy, instead of ending $30 billion in subsidies to the oil industry.

US President Joe Biden signs executive order on ’environmental justice’ during Rose Garden event at the White House in Washington

“For far too long, communities across our country have faced persistent environmental injustice through toxic pollution, underinvestment in infrastructure and critical services, and other disproportionate environmental harms often due to a legacy of racial discrimination,” the White House said in a statement.

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The president has used his executive authority in areas, where his ability to deliver new laws from a divided Congress has been stymied.

Cathleen Kelly, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said the order would help hold the federal government accountable for the impact of its policies on low-income, Black, Brown and Indigenous communities facing dangerous hazards.

“These communities experience inequitable living conditions tied to chronic disinvestment and systemic racism that increase vulnerability to climate change,” she said in a statement.

US Vice President Kamala Harris separately visited Miami on Friday to announce a $562 million investment in helping communities become more resilient to climate change.

Harris’ trip comes as South Florida struggles with gasoline shortages after flooding last week disrupted deliveries and prompted some panic buying at the pump.

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