So the dust has settled and we now know that Barack Obama will soon be moving his historical self and family to the White House. Whilst I am still getting over ‘I never thought I’d see it in my life time’ syndrome a question keeps coming back to me. What will the Obama's notion of change mean for environmental justice and environmental equality in the US? And as the UK constantly looks to the US environmental justice movement what impact could this have in old Blighty?His past record certainly seems positive. As a Senator Barack Obama introduced the Healthy Communities Act 2007 co-sponsored by Hilary Clinton, had the rights of everyone to a clean and healthy environment at its heart. More specifically, it aimed to tackle environmental and health issues in the most disadvantaged communities. The Act had some criticisms, but overall, it was welcomed by the US environmental justice grassroots movement. But what's the future for environmental justice under Barack Obama?Well, the Obama Biden environmental plan is promising. Perhaps the most important issue for environmental justice activists is the commitment to strengthen federal environmental justice programmes. The plan states that environmental justice and policies will remain a priority within the Environmental Protection Agency (the US equivalent of England's Environment Agency). If they follow through on the promise this will be accompanied with an expansion of the Environmental Justice Small Grants Programme. Along with the promise 'to provide low income communities the legal ability to challenge policies and process that adversely affect the environmental health of low-income and minority communities', build healthy sustainable communities, protect children from toxic pollution and create a green jobs corps for youth jobs. The national plan certainly looks good and provides an exemplar for the UK government.
But how likely is it that environmental justice will shape the US global role in environmental issues? Will Obama underline his commitment to tackling environmental justice in the same way that the Clinton administration did? Will he and his administration take up the call from, amongst, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Frank Walter Steinmeir, to lead on a global green deal?The President Elect's has now made the public statement that his presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change. If the US does play the lead role in developing a new deal on climate change it is possible that environmental justice will be seen as integral to tackling tackling a major environmental issue in a way that is socially just for the most vulnerable and poorest people around world.
Equally, the Obama Biden focus on creating green collar jobs could also mean using climate change as a lever for developing a just transition to a low carbon economy. The new Democrat government says it will be about making the US a leader in combatting climate change around the world. Part of this role is about what it does domestically. Will it reduce carbon emission by 80% by 2050 (is that really enough)? How will it invest in a clean energy and create American jobs without creating protectionist policies that impact on poorer countries? Like the US motor company, wanting to know how the new government will support the industry's move to build energy efficient cars, it's a pretty much a game of wait and see.
However, the signs look positive. The potential for Barack Obama to champion environmental justice in the US will undoubtedly impact the social justice and environmental agenda in the UK. Hopefully it will mean gaining a clearer understanding of what environmental justice means in practice when tackling issues like health, equality, climate change and employment.
