Climate Pact States Fall Short on Pollution Inequity, Study Says

A regional climate pact among Northeast states has dramatically cut power plant carbon dioxide emissions but has had less success in benefiting communities of color and other marginalized populations still suffering disproportionately from air pollution, according to a study published Wednesday.

The research, published in the peer-reviewed PLOS scientific journal, was touted as the first data-driven assessment of the disparities in environmental justice communities related to power generation in the 11 states participating in the cap-and-trade program known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The study by the Union of Concerned Scientists comes as the RGGI program and participating states have launched a multi-year rethinking of the program amid growing pressure to slash even more carbon emissions and put more revenue from the billions of dollars the program raises into disadvantaged communities.

According to the study, the percentage of people of color who live less than 6.2 miles from a power plant is 23.5% higher than the portion of the white population in the same area.

The percentage of people living in poverty within five miles of a power plant is 15.3% higher than those not living in poverty, and marginalized communities examined in the study are home to far more power plant operations than other populations.

Confirming Experiences

While the RGGI pact has generally been seen as a rare U.S. success story in addressing climate change—it has halved power sector carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels for states from Virginia to Maine—the study suggests the benefits have not been distributed equitably among communities, said Juan Declet-Barreto, lead author of the study and a senior social scientist for climate vulnerability at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Emissions reductions from power plants within the states “have largely benefited non-environmental justice communities,” he said. “Communities have long shared their lived experience of being overburdened by harmful emissions and our study based on data from the plants themselves confirms this.”

States participating in the RGGI program include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

Supporters have been fighting attempts to scrap several states from the program, including in Pennsylvania, where a judge’s ruling earlier this month has put on hold at least for now outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) efforts to put the Keystone State into the climate pact.