On behalf of The Greenlining Institute, Little Manila Rising, and Elemental Excelerator, we urge the White House Council on Environmental Quality to adopt the recommendations set forth in this letter on the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (“CEJST”) to ensure racial, climate and economic equity are centered in the development of the tool.

The CEJST must be part of a flexible and iterative process so the tool can be consistently updated and improved. Equity must be an active, ongoing and evolving process in the Justice40 Initiative to be successful in addressing injustices. We welcome the opportunity to work with the CEQ to develop an equity centered tool that will benefit the most vulnerable members of our communities through the Justice40 Initiative.

We recommend that the White House Council on Environmental Quality:

1) Ensure the data analysis is comprehensive and nuanced, and results in equitable investment allocation

2) Provide transparency and accountability for past and future processes to ensure procedural equity in tool development and implementation

3) Address data gaps and provide a clear explanation of coordination of this tool with other state and federal tools.

Comment Letter here.