US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday unveiled a new “Office of Environmental Justice” to advance Joe Biden’s climate agenda.
“The new office will be headed by Cynthia Ferguson, an attorney working in the DOJ’s Environmental Enforcement Section of its Environment and Natural Resources Division.” – CNN reported.
Garland said the Office of Environmental Justice “will serve as the central hub for our efforts to advance our comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy,” with the office working alongside a number of other intradepartmental agencies, including the Civil Rights Division and United States Attorneys’ offices, to “prioritize meaningful and constructive engagement with the communities most affected by environmental crime and injustice.”
“In our environmental enforcement efforts, we will prioritize the cases that will have the greatest impact on the communities most overburdened by environmental harm,” he said, noting that “communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities often bear the brunt of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution and climate change.”