Racial gap in air quality may persist under Biden program

To avoid legal challenges, the Biden administration did not include racial demographics in a tool used to identify disadvantaged communities for government programs and investment. (Pxfuel photo) A Biden administration program designed to address environmental inequalities, including reducing the air quality gap between white communities and communities of color, may not succeed. That's due, in part, to the administration's decision not to include racial demographics in a new tool that will be used to evaluate proposed regulations or policies, finds a new study published online Thursday in the journal Science . Across the U.S., disadvantaged communities - including low-income communities and communities of color - experience higher levels of air pollution than wealthier and predominantly white communities. These inequities are largely rooted in decades of discriminatory land use decision-making and housing practices, including redlining. To reduce these disparities, the Biden administration has committed to ensuring that 40% of the benefits from its climate change and energy investments accrue to disadvantaged communities. This initiative, known as Justice40 , uses the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) to target so-called disadvantaged communities for government programs and investment.