Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines the economic landscape of the Louisiana River Parishes, highlighting a paradox where high industrial activity from petrochemical plants masks significant unemployment, worker outflow, and high household debt. It finds that while median incomes are higher than the state average, they fall below the regional living wage for families, and the population is experiencing a gradual decline. The workforce is characterized by a high concentration of low-skill 'Tier 3' jobs and a reliance on commuting outside the community for employment.

The EPA is reviewing a petition from Earthjustice and community groups regarding the use of Significant Impact Levels (SILs) for ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Louisiana and Texas. While the EPA has rejected the Title VI administrative discrimination portion of the petition due to ongoing litigation, it is conducting a broader national evaluation of SIL guidance through an internal workgroup convened in September 2023, with results expected by the end of 2024. In Louisiana, the EPA is monitoring the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's (LDEQ) progress in addressing modeled National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) violations. LDEQ has identified 15 PSD permit actions since 2018 with predicted exceedances and is conducting case-by-case reviews to determine if these are indicative of actual violations or results of conservative modeling assumptions.

The oil and gas industry is pursuing a "petrochemical boom" to offset losses from the clean energy transition, focusing build-outs in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Appalachian regions. This expansion threatens to lock in fossil fuel demand, increase carbon emissions, and exacerbate environmental racism in low-income and minority communities. Earthjustice is actively fighting these projects, such as the Formosa Plastics complex in Louisiana, through legal challenges and policy advocacy to reduce plastic production and pollution.

The report details survey results from the Ironbound Community (New Jersey), Navajo Nation Chapters (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah), and St. James and St. John the Baptist Parishes (Louisiana). It finds widespread skepticism toward developers due to unfulfilled past promises and low initial awareness of CBPs. While support for CBPs increased after residents were informed of potential benefits, priorities varied: environmental quality (water and air) and affordable housing were highly valued, while specific clean energy funding like EV charging stations ranked lower. Residents strongly emphasized the need for transparent, accessible engagement and the inclusion of small business owners and environmental groups in negotiations.

The report details a multi-decade pattern of environmental degradation, safety failures, and human rights abuses by the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) across Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the United States. It highlights specific disasters, such as the 2016 marine life catastrophe in Vietnam and toxic dumping in Cambodia, alongside chronic pollution and safety lapses at US facilities in Texas, Louisiana, and Delaware. The document specifically critiques FPG's planned 'Sunshine Project' in St. James Parish, Louisiana, as an act of environmental racism. It concludes that the petrochemical industry's inherent risks, combined with FPG's corporate obfuscation and history of noncompliance, necessitate a halt to new plastics plants and a shift away from fossil-fuel-based petrochemicals.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) has launched the Climate Equity and the Clean Energy Transition Project to address the historical trend of placing clean energy infrastructure in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, which often exacerbates existing injustices. The project aims to move from adversarial relationships to cooperative engagement between environmental justice communities, the energy sector, and climate advocates. Key activities include on-site community research, analyzing best practices for clean energy siting to protect public health, and developing a roadmap to modernize federal government programs and budgets to make them more accessible to underserved populations. Additionally, CATF is piloting an online capacity-building tool for community engagement and hosting workshops with environmental justice organizations to redefine decision-making processes and address air quality health impacts. The project focuses on various U.S. rural, tribal, and urban locations, including the Navajo Nation and the Ironbound Community, to produce recommendations for equitable project development and federal program implementation.

The report identifies 5,500 hazardous facilities along U.S. coasts at risk of 100-year coastal flooding by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario. It highlights a significant environmental justice gap, finding that poorer and marginalized communities are 15-41% more likely to live near these at-risk sites. The analysis emphasizes the danger of 'NaTech' disasters, where natural events trigger technological failures, leading to toxic contamination of floodwaters.