Infrastructure investments will have an outsized impact on job creation among Latinos and African Americans, according to a new issue brief from EPI Director of Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy Algernon Austin.

In Infrastructure Investments and Latino and African American Job Creation, Austin outlines how infrastructure investments can help create jobs among people of color, who were disproportionally hard hit by the recession.

“While the government should be focusing on a return to full employment, we must also look at ways to close the unemployment gap between white workers and people of color,” said Austin. “We know that the right infrastructure investments can help reduce these gaps, and I strongly encourage President Obama and members of Congress to take this into account when looking at how to create jobs.”

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“In addition to the positive impact that infrastructure projects have on minority employment, this analysis shows the particular value of creating green jobs, not only in terms of economic progress but also in addressing long-term public health concerns in communities of color,” said Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Read more at the Economic Policy Institute.

Moving toward energy independence and improving minorities vantage point in the energy industry were some of the issues discussed during the “Solving the Energy Equation: Demand, Supply, Infrastructure and how it Impacts our Communities” panel at the 2012 Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference last Friday.

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Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association and board member of the Joint Center for Political and  Economic Policies Health Policy Institute’s Advisory Committee agreed that striving for energy independence “…is an opportunity for a win-win” considering how climate change disproportionately affects minority and low income communities.

Read more at Politic365.

The Joint Center, in partnership with Ecotrust, recently hosted a launch event to release the groundbreaking report entitled, Cooling the Planet, Clearing the Air: Should Climate Policies Give Extra Credit for Maximizing Short-term Health Benefits? by Professors Manuel Pastor and James Boyce.  The Honorable James E. Clyburn, the Assistant Democratic Leader in the House of Representatives, was guest speaker and discussed the importance of the report before a packed room.

In response to requests, a webinar with the authors will be held on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 12 noon EST/ 9 a.m. PST to share the findings and policy recommendations and take questions from a national audience. This is the first national level study to take a careful look at the potential to reduce harmful air pollution as part of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report argues that we need to build GHG reduction into energy policy not simply for efficiency reasons – why leave public health benefits lying on the ground? – but also for equity reasons: the facilities that emit GHGs and the associated co-pollutants are disproportionately in low-income communities and communities of color.

Download the entire press release below and register for the webinar here!

Expanding climate change mitigation approaches beyond greenhouse gases to also target related pollutants would have enormous public health benefits in the nation’s most disadvantaged communities, according to a report released today by E3 Network and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

The report, Cooling the Planet, Clearing the Air: Climate Policy, Carbon Pricing, and Co-Benefits, found that the same industrial facilities that emit carbon tend to generate other harmful pollutants, such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, that actually pose a more immediate and direct threat to the health of nearby residents.  Since these facilities are typically located in or near low-income and minority communities, adding these harmful “co-pollutants” to a climate change mitigation strategy would have an almost immediate positive health impact on the health of millions of poor and minority Americans.  The research showed that the benefits would be comparable in economic value to the benefits of the carbon reduction by itself.

The peer-reviewed report is the first national level study to take such a careful look at the potential to further reduce harmful air pollution as part of any strategy to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reverse climate change.

Download the full press release below.

Policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions can yield substantial co-benefits via reduced emissions of co-pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and air toxics. Valuation studies suggest that these benefits may be comparable in magnitude to the value of reduced carbon emissions. However, co-pollutant intensity (the ratio of co-benefits to carbon dioxide emissions) varies across pollution sources, and so efficient policy design would seek greater emissions reductions where co-benefits are higher. Moreover, because co-pollutant impacts are localized, the distribution of co-benefits raises important issues of equity, particularly with regard to the unintentional income, racial, and geographic disparities that might result from carbon-charge programs, whether they are trading or fee approaches. This paper presents evidence on intersectoral and spatial variations in co-pollutant intensity and discusses options for integrating co-benefits into climate policy to advance the goals of efficiency and equity.

An executive summary of this report is also available, as well as a press release.

The new automobile fuel efficiency standards are good for the nation and especially welcome in communities of color.  Any time we can make major advancements in cleaning the air and reducing the emissions that cause climate change—as these standards will do—we will see an enormous positive impact on people of color, whom studies show are the most adversely impacted by dirty air and the warming of the planet.  Clearly, the goal of more and better jobs and greater opportunity for all is firmly linked with that of a cleaner economy and a more healthful environment.  We applaud the EPA and the auto manufacturers for working together to establish these standards and thereby point the way toward a brighter future for all our communities.

This Joint Center webinar features U.S. experts and Mexican leaders who successfully advocated for Mexico's new global warming legislation, highlighting key features of the law and its potential impact on U.S. and international climate politics.

The full webinar can be found here (registration required).

A report by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health provides an expanded review of six new air quality regulations proposed or recently adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA). These include the first national standards for reducing dangerous emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants.

Though the cost of implementing the new regulations is estimated to be about $195 billion over the next 20 years or so, the economic, environmental and health benefits amount to well over $1 trillion, considerably outweighing the control costs, according to the report, which was issued by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C.

Read more at Terradaily.

An expanded review of six new air quality regulations proposed or recently adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) is provided in a report by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

These include the first national standards for reducing dangerous emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants. Though the cost of implementing the new regulations is estimated to be about $195 billion over the next 20 years or so, the economic, environmental and health benefits amount to well over $1 trillion, considerably outweighing the control costs, according to the report, which was issued by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C.


Read more at Med India.