Why The Focus On Environmental Justice Has Shifted To The States

Addressing so-called "environmental justice" (EJ) issues was a major focus for the Biden Administration from the time it took office. But, as we prepare for a new administration, the Biden Administration's primacy in advancing EJ issues has waned, if not disappeared.

The popular dialogue about environmental policy implies that it is formed by an army of politicized Washington bureaucrats reined in by process limitations imposed by the US Constitution as interpreted by jurists often advancing their own political causes. To be sure, case decisions matter as do elections and broader social debates, like those we emphasized here.

We outlined reasons why the federal EJ fever cooled this past April. Six months in, much of the movement in the EJ field involves state governments. Below, we break down why much focus on EJ issues has shifted to the states.