James Boyce
AMHERST, Mass. – Decarbonization of electric power generation will be a key part of any serious effort to address the climate crisis, and during the 2020 presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden pledged to deliver 40% of the overall benefits from a clean energy revolution to disadvantaged communities. Shortly after taking office in January, President Biden signed an executive order establishing an office of health and climate equity at the Department of Health and Human Services and a White House interagency council on environmental justice. A central aim of these actions is to improve conditions in these communities, which for decades have borne disproportionate burdens from power plants, incinerators and other sources of pollution.