In the summer of 2019, New York State passed one of the most ambitious climate laws we've seen so far.

It's called the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or the CLCPA.

The CLCPA requires New York to cut emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.

But that's not the only time 40 percent is used in the law.

The law also requires that 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy and climate investments

flow towards disadvantaged communities. I asked Rawa Germatzian how it felt to bring this law to

life. She's the former executive director of the

Buffalo Housing Advocacy Group, people united for sustainable housing, or push, Buffalo,

an organization that played a pivotal role in the CLCPA. It is a historic moment as a black woman

really in the fight for justice, but in particular

climate justice. You know, this idea of centering the voices of the most impacted was only

coming from environmental justice organizations. And to me, it was a powerful moment because it showed that after more than a decade of black and brown organizations fighting for intersectional approaches and holistic approaches, but also centering the most marginalized voices because we often say in our movement, those who are closest to the problem or the pain have the best solutions.

And getting the big greens and kind of the mainstream environmental organizations to have faith and trust that we actually have the solutions for our problems was a big shift. It was a big shift.

It was a big change.

And it was just a given.

The work Rawa was doing in the city of Buffalo inspired a similar approach in Washington, D.C.

In January 2021, during his first week in office, President Joe Biden launched the Justice 40 initiative

as a part of an executive order called

Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.

Following in the footsteps of the New York law,

the federal initiative directs 40% of the benefits

of federal investment to disadvantaged communities. This includes clean energy,

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