DOE is hosting its first-ever Justice Week September 12-16. DOE will convene internal and external stakeholders to discuss the work the Department has been doing this past year on issues of equity and justice and understand the path ahead to institutionalize this important work. We will be discussing three large initiatives: the DEIA Executive Order (EO 14035), the Equity Executive Order (EO 13985), and the Justice40 Initiative. There will be activities for DOE employees and contractors every day of the week as well as some external events.

Day 4 of Justice week will focus on the Justice40 Initiative. During his first week in office, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. Section 223 of this Order established the Justice40 Initiative, which directs 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments – including investments in clean energy and energy efficiency; clean transit; affordable and sustainable housing; training and workforce development; the remediation and reduction of legacy pollution; and the development of clean water infrastructure – to flow to disadvantaged communities. In this course White House leaders will cover the whole-of-government approach to the Justice40 Initiative and Department of Energy program leaders will discuss how they are equitably tackling the climate crisis through the Justice40 Initiative.

Participants will:

1. Learn what type of direction has the White House provided to Federal agencies to achieve the goals of Justice40 Initiative.
2. Learn how DOE programs are applying the Justice40 Initiative to program design and implementation.
3. Learn how a quantitative framework centered around reducing energy burden and equitable clean energy interventions can support policy decision-making and program design.
4. Learn how the Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP) was designed to help environmental justice communities and communities with historical ties to fossil fuel industries take direct control of their clean energy future.

Agenda:

• 10:00: Welcoming Remarks by Deputy Director for Energy Justice Tony Reames
• 10:05: Keynote Speech by Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Senior Director for Environmental Justice Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome
• 10:30: Panel – White House Justice40 Initiative Implementation
• 11:15: Panel – Aligning Justice40 benefits with Program Priorities Panel
• 11:55-12:00 Closing Remarks
• 12:00: Lunchtime Webinar: Valuing social science and interdisciplinary and inclusive energy research
• 1:00: Webinar – Optimizing Equity in Energy Policy Interventions
• 2:00: Panel: Community-DOE Collaboration – Communities LEAP (Local Energy Action Program)
• 3:00: Closing Remarks by Chief of Staff Christopher Davis