Indigenous Environmental Justice and Screening Tools: Lessons Learned from EJSCREEN and Paths Forward for the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool

Abstract

The Biden-Harris administration has invested considerable policy focus on environmental justice, including the Justice40 Initiative and renewed White House Council on Native American Affairs. This work has included financial investments in Tribal economies, prioritizing Tribal healthcare, and major Tribal infrastructure investments. The Justice40 Initiative aims to deliver at least 40 percent of the benefits of federal investments in climate and energy to disadvantaged communities, including many Tribes. To identify communities that should be targeted by Justice40 investments, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is developing a new Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). Executive Order 14008 references how this new screening tool should be based on lessons learned from EJSCREEN. For Tribes, however, EJSCREEN does not adequately represent environmental justice needs relevant to the goals outlined in Justice40. In this thesis, I will discuss gaps in EJSCREEN that must be addressed in the forthcoming screening tool in order to improve the representation and inclusion of Indigenous perspectives on environmental justice. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the environmental justice movement in the United States, including the development of environmental justice screening tools. Chapter 2 highlights environmental justice issues that have been highlighted by many different Tribal communities that are not represented in EJSCREEN. Chapter 3 reviews the methodologies and datasets used in EJSCREEN, and their relationship to Tribal perspectives on environmental justice. Chapter 4 concludes with a set of recommendations for the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool such that Tribes may fully benefit from Justice40 investments