Wisconsin now has an Office of Environmental Justice. This office is charged with ensuring fairness and equity as the state moves forward with its new clean-energy strategy.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports heaviest impactsClimate change often falls on underserved communities that are “least able” to prepare for and recover heat waves, poor air quality and flooding, which is a gap the new office will address.
Gov. Tony Evers stated at a news conference that the office will collaborate across state agencies in order to provide a fair response to climate change.
Evers stated that “the cost of doing nothing” is too high. “We cannot ignore the reality facing communities across our state anymore.”
The Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts has published a report Extreme storms and floodingExtreme weather is most common in Wisconsin. Frequent or extreme flooding can lead to waterborne diseases and contamination of drinking water.
According to the governor’s office the state’s new Clean Energy PlanBy 2030, the state could have more than 40,000 new jobs.
Pamela Ritger de la Rosa (Milwaukee program director) and Clean Wisconsin staff attorney said that it is vital that those jobs are available to workers of disadvantaged and low income communities. This is a goal she believes the new Office of Environmental Justice can help achieve.
Ritger de la Rosa stated, “Investing into these changes could really help us to solve the economic crisis that many individuals living in our underserved areas are living with every day.” “Because these jobs can’t easily be automated and can’t been outsourced.”
Evers had previously proposed the Office of Environmental Justice for his 2021-2023 state budget. However, the proposal was rescinded by the Legislature’s Republicans. This time, the governor bypassed Congress by using an Executive OrderTo establish the office. The governor stated that the office would be headed by an unnamed director of environment justice and chief resilience officer.
