This article from NRDC explains why building equity into climate and energy transition planning is important, and lays out several steps on how it can be done. It talks about California, but issues like this are true in every state. It also impacts the energy burden, especially for lower income people.
Lower income communities and communities of color experience disproportionate impacts from environmental hazards, and have not benefited as much from previous clean energy initiatives.
Ways to build equity into energy planning include: assess community needs, integrate communities into decision making, include health and economic development in measures of success, successfully fund programs, and make sure evaluation and reporting progress along the way includes all goals, and is required along the way as well as at the end.
Please read this article for more details on each idea.
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lara-ettenson/everyone-can-benefit-electric-homes-heres-how-0
