Advancing Energy Justice: Tools for Justice40 and Equitable Deep Decarbonization
This two-day conference brought together federal agency staff working to implement Justice40 with researchers to discuss how academic research can be more responsive to communities’ needs. Speakers and attendees worked to identify implementation challenges and opportunities for Justice40 and other energy justice initiatives. The goal was to enable researchers to develop methods, interdisciplinary connections, and frameworks that can help make deep decarbonization efforts more consistent with the tenets of energy justice. The playlist of session recordings are available here. Panelists' slides are uploaded here as we receive them. Our conference summary brief is available here. Our conference summary brief is available here.
Shalanda Baker (Deputy Director for Energy Justice, U.S. Department of Energy) provided keynote remarks, and dozens of experts rook part in panel discussions.
This conference was organized by the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, along with a committee of experts in the field. The event was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Day 1 Schedule
| Time (EST) | Event | Speakers |
| May 11, 12:00 - 12:30 pm |
Keynote An overview of Justice40 and the importance of accounting for equity in decarbonization. |
Shalanda Baker, DOE Secretarial Advisor on Equity and Deputy Director for Energy Justice |
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May 11, 12:30 - 2:00 pm |
Justice40 in Implementation The panel will bring together staff from federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Department of Agriculture (USDA) to discuss how agencies are approaching Justice40. Panelists will discuss the tools, models, datasets, and methods their agencies are using and what gaps or challenges they face that resources from the broader research community might be able to address. |
Moderator: Parth Vaishnav, University of Michigan Panelists: Bidisha Bhattacharyya, USDA Christopher Coes, DOT Arsenio Mataka, HHS Tony Reames, DOE Matthew Tejada, EPA |
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May 11, 2:15 pm - 3:45 pm |
Community Research Partnerships to Support Decarbonization The panel will discuss how research can be more responsive to communities’ needs—whether that is by building research partnerships with communities, or by cooperating with communities so academic research can further their goals in local, state, and federal government interactions. The panel will also aim to expand the concept of “research” and methodologies considered legitimate in research communities, including community organizations that have led their own research efforts. |
Moderators: Gabriel Chan, University of Minnesota & Diana Hernández, Columbia University Panelists: - Sandra Begay, Sandia National Laboratories - Felicia Davis, HBCU Green Fund - Richard D. Gragg III, Florida A&M University - Len Necefer, Natives Outdoors - Cecilio Ortiz Garcia, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley & RISE Network - Marla PeĢrez-Lugo, University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley & RISE Network - Carolyn Ford Quincy, North Florida Educational Development Corporation - Amy Jo Schulz, University of Michigan & Community Action to Promote Healthy Communities - Donele Wilkins, Green Door Initiative |
Day 2 Schedule
| Time (EST) | Event | Speakers |
| May 12, 12:00-12:20 pm |
Keynote A brief overview defining a framework for Equitable Deep Decarbonization. |
Anna Spurlock, Berkeley Lab and Department of Energy Justice40 Fellow |
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May 12, 12:20 - 1:35 pm |
Resources for Justice40, Equitable Deep Decarbonization, and Key Gaps This panel will discuss data sources and innovative methodologies that could be leveraged for Justice40 or Equitable Deep Decarbonization research, exploring what academic resources could be useful to government initiatives and what data or resource gaps federal agencies could help fill to advance academic work pertaining to Justice40 and Equitable Deep Decarbonization. |
Moderator: Natalie Popovich, Berkeley Lab and DOE Justice40 Fellow Panelists: Bonnie Keeler, University of Minnesota Erin Mayfield, Dartmouth College Ishan Nath, Princeton University and Climate Impact Lab
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May 12, 1:50 - 3:05 pm |
Research Threads Relevant to Justice40 and Equitable Deep Decarbonization This panel will overview research threads in multiple disciplines that are relevant to Justice40 or Equitable Deep Decarbonization, identifying academic research areas and the key issues that need to be considered when conducting such research (e.g., scaling up or down, community engagement, political/regulatory/legal constraints, etc.). |
Moderator: Burçin Ünel, New York University, Institute for Policy Integrity Panelists: Joan Casey, Columbia University Catie Hausman, University of Michigan Destenie Nock, Carnegie Mellon University |
|
May 12, 3:20 - 4:35 pm |
Restorative Justice in Different Research Frameworks The panel will discuss how different academic fields frame and grapple with restorative justice and how those frameworks interplay with approaches to Equitable Deep Decarbonization. A particular focus will be identifying frameworks that account for the differential costs and benefits of decarbonization-related investments and addressing historically accumulated burdens and historical differences in baseline conditions. |
Moderator: Anna Spurlock, Berkeley Lab and DOE Justice40 Fellow Daniel Carrión, Yale University Andrew Curley, University of Arizona Danae Hernández-Cortés, Arizona State University |
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May 12, 4:45 - 5:30 pm |
Concurrent Breakout Discussions Themed breakout rooms for networking and facilitated discussion led by experts. Transportation: Torrey Lyons, DOE-DOT Joint Office of Energy and Transportation; Corey Harper, Carnegie Mellon University; Monisha Shah, DOE-DOT Joint Office of Energy and Transportation; Anna Spurlock, Berkeley Lab and DOE Justice40 Fellow Labor Impacts: Mijin Cha, Occidental College; Mike Fishman, National Climate Jobs Resource Center; Betony Jones, DOE; Clark Miller, Arizona State University Energy Poverty: Dominic Bednar, Arizona State University; Crystal Bergemann, HUD; Diana Hernández, Columbia University; Michael Reiner, DOE Place-based Research: Alyse Taylor-Anyikire, DOE Office of Policy, Communities Leap; Tianna Bruno, University of Texas - Austin; Gabriel Chan, University of Minnesota |
Organizing Committee:
- C. Anna Spurlock, Co-chair, Berkeley Lab and DOE Justice40 Fellow
- Burçin Ünel, Co-chair, New York University, Institute for Policy Integrity
- Maya Aronoff, DOE Office of Economic Impact and Diversity Intern
- Gabriel Chan, University of Minnesota
- Diana Hernández, Columbia University
- Clark A. Miller, Arizona State University
- James M. Sallee, University of California, Berkeley
- Parth Vaishnav, University of Michigan
Participants agree to comply with the Institute for Policy Integrity code of conduct.
