Identifying Disadvantaged Communities Using Cumulative Environmental Burdens

The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) was developed by the U.S. federal government in 2022 to identify marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by climate change. This interactive mapping tool identifies disadvantaged communities based on the presence of low-income residents and one of eight climate, environmental, or other burden categories. Communities that meet these criteria were eligible for funding from the Justice40 initiative, which sought to direct 40% of overall benefits from federal investments in climate, clean energy, and sustainable housing into these communities—designated as Justice40 communities. While CEJST includes a wide range of indicators to evaluate burden categories, it does not include any measure of overall community risk or harm due to a combination of multiple burdens. This project seeks to extend and improve CEJST’s model by assessing the cumulative impacts of climate and environmental burdens across communities in the U.S. By incorporating and analyzing cumulative burdens using both conventional and cutting-edge geospatial techniques, the revised screening tool will promote more meaningful and equitable investment to support overburdened and disadvantaged communities facing the greatest risk from climate change.  

Acknowledgements 

Dr. Jayajit Chakraborty, Client & Advisor, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management 

Dr. Carmen Galaz García,  Faculty Advisor, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management 

Dr. Max Czapanskiy, Faculty, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management 

Juliet Cohen, Data Scientist, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management 

Abby Vath Meyer, Geospatial Developer, NCEAS