Creation Justice Ministries Celebrates the Introduction of Landmark “Environmental Justice for All Act”

February 27, 2020

Creation Justice Ministries applauds the historic Environmental Justice for All Act put forward today by US House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.). 

We know that we are entrusted by God with care for creation and love of neighbor.  The transformative change envisioned by this bill is a crucial step forward as a nation to better embody and live out both principles.  We especially affirm the following aspects of the Environmental Justice for All Act:

• The bill creates a Federal Energy Transition Economic Development Assistance Fund – paid for through new fees on oil, gas and coal companies – to support communities and workers as they transition away from greenhouse gas-dependent economies.
• The bill requires federal agencies to consider cumulative health impacts under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in making permitting decisions and ensures that permits will not be issued if projects cannot demonstrate a reasonable certainty of no harm to human health.
  
  
• The bill strengthens the Civil Rights Act to permit private citizens and organizations facing discrimination to seek legal remedies.
• ​The bill provides $75 million in annual grants for research and program development to reduce health disparities and improve public health in environmental justice communities.

Because environmental justice requires attention to process as well as outcomes, we also affirm the one-year stakeholder process leading up to the release of the bill, which reflects the intersectional grassroots collaboration that is core to our mission.

Creation Justice Ministries affirms the dignity of all God’s children, and therefore we lift up our moral imperative to seek environmental justice for people of every race, economic status, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious affiliation.  

Creation Justice Ministries represents the creation care policies of 38 Christian traditions, including Baptist, mainline Protestant, Historically Black, Peace, and Orthodox communions. Learn more at www.creationjustice.org

Contact: Shantha Ready Alonso, Executive Director 202-618-2501 (mobile)