New Congress, New House Push for Environmental Civil Rights

The new 116th Congress may spend more time examining the intersection of race and the environment, and specifically look at how poor and minority communities are affected by climate change.

Two dozen of the 101 new members of the House are people of color, and several of them told Bloomberg Environment they believe any environmental legislation must account for historically disadvantaged communities.

Additionally, Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.), co-founder of a congressional environmental justice task force, is now a member of the House’s Energy & Commerce Committee, which primarily handles environmental and energy issues.

He described climate ...