Exclusion of race in federal climate justice screening tool could worsen disparities, analysis says

By DREW COSTLEY
AP Science Writer

A screening tool the federal government is using to decide which neighborhoods have a disproportionate amount of pollution and climate risk could worsen air pollution exposure disparities along racial lines, according to a new analysis. Researchers from several universities around the United States who modeled the potential effects of the use of the tool in guiding federal investment told The Associated Press it’s because race was excluded as a part of the equation that decides which communities are the most in need. The analysis they did, which was published in Science on Thursday, brings important context to a debate between the federal government and the environmental and climate justice community over how to improve decades-old environmental and climate disparities.