Powering a Just Climate Future

Reclaiming Power: The Promise of the Justice40 Initiative

Published on February 4, 2025

By Trilby MacDonald, Ecology Center Writer

On January 20, President Trump issued executive orders designed to reverse the Justice40 initiative and most other federal environmental justice initiatives. By themselves, however, the orders don't end the program or undo the positive impact it has had in overburdened communities across the country. Its fate will be determined in the coming years. To explain what's at stake, read on.

Devastating fires, hurricanes, and rising sea levels are a staple of the daily news cycle. Although climate-related catastrophes like these seem far from Michigan, the state has declared major disasters due to flooding five times in the past decade. Many Michiganders are taking steps to protect themselves and reduce their carbon footprints by weatherizing their homes and investing in clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and solar panels. 

Folks who live in disadvantaged zip codes with crumbling infrastructure and few public services are the hardest hit by climate change, yet many say they feel left behind by the clean energy movement. The cost of basic home improvements that would lower energy bills and emissions are expensive for people struggling to make ends meet. The costs of solar power and electric vehicles are completely out of reach. Grassroots organizations working to build climate resilience in disadvantaged communities have also been left out.  Without the funding and capacity needed to win and manage large government grants, they are at a disadvantage compared to larger, richer competitors.

To address these inequities, President Biden issued the Justice40 initiative, requiring 40% of the benefit of federal climate and infrastructure investments go towards community-based organizations in overburdened neighborhoods. These investments fall under the wide umbrella of Environmental Justice and can include everything from flood mitigation, renewable energy, and workforce development to transportation, housing, and pollution reduction. The Biden Administration tapped Tony Reames, University of Michigan Tishman Professor of Environmental Justice and former Ecology Center board member, to lead the bold initiative.

Energy Justice with Tony Reames:

“It’s a way for the federal government to think about communities experiencing the climate crisis first and worst, making sure they’re at the front of the line,” explains Reames in an interview with the Ecology Center. His passion for environmental justice springs from his experience growing up in a “quintessential environmental justice community” in rural South Carolina, home to the state’s largest landfill, a maximum security prison, and legacy contamination by the textile industry. Justice40 unlocks the power of government to improve access to affordable and reliable clean energy for communities like his. 

Environmental justice recognizes the historical and systemic inequities in how environmental harms and benefits are distributed and seeks to remedy those disparities,” explains Reames, while energy justice aims to achieve “equity in both the social and economic participation in the energy system while also remediating the social, economic, and health burdens of those who have historically been harmed by that system.

Between 2021 and 2023, Justice40 allocated roughly $600 billion across more than 500 programs in 19 federal agencies, making it the largest distribution of federal funding to benefit marginalized communities in U.S. history. To make sure the money is going to the right places, applicants must measure how their projects would aid local communities.  “We looked at disadvantaged communities through metrics like energy burdens, pollution exposure, and access to clean energy technologies, ensuring resources go to those who need them most,” Reames explains.

The Michigan Justice40 Accelerator program overseen by The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE,) provides funding, training, and technical support to community-based organizations at the forefront of the environmental justice movement. Each organization in the program receives a $15,000 grant to provide project development and technical assistance, such as grant writers to build proposals that could attract funding for transformative projects. Ecology Center partner, the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC) is a Detroit-based nonprofit that provides the Michigan Justice40 Accelerator with operations and community engagement support.

Elijah William People Over Profits
Elijah Williams, Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition Community Organizer

MEJC addresses the root causes of climate change, including racism and capitalism, which affect people of color and low-income communities the most. MEJC’s approach is as diverse as the communities it represents, including organizing, policy advocacy, and direct action to build collective power and achieve statewide environmental justice from the ground up. MEJC’s signature Energy Democracy campaign focuses on protecting consumers’ rights and dismantling DTE’s lock on the energy market in Southeast Michigan. Elijah Williams, MEJC Community Organizer, chairs the Arts and Community subcommittee of the Energy Democracy campaign. He moved to Detroit from Jackson, Mississippi in late 2023 and was shocked by the high cost of living, especially utilities. “Michiganders pay way too much for energy in general, and the price keeps going up. There’s been like two or three rate increases since I’ve lived here.” Williams believes that artistic expression can harness the power of collective action by helping people “to make the connection between culture, energy justice, and democracy.” He sees the arts as a vital tool for cultivating community identity and resilience. 

Looking back on his childhood, Williams recalls being taught to conserve water and energy to save money. “But now I see it as saving resources for the good of the community,” he says. This shift in perspective inspires his vision: “I want to be able to reintroduce energy democracy from a standpoint of autonomy and not out of fear.” Together with his fellow activists at MEJC, Williams finds joy and fellowship in creative projects that not only express the pain of energy injustice but also light a path forward through collective action.

Justice40 is an ambitious stride toward addressing the deep disparities that have long left underrepresented communities bearing the brunt of environmental harm. It shows what is possible when government policy aligns with grassroots advocacy and a vision of equality. While the initiative marks significant progress, our energy justice work is only just beginning. Regardless of political shifts, the pursuit of fairness and resilience must go on. Now more than ever, we must redouble our efforts to ensure a just transition to a sustainable, equitable energy future for all.