Air Quality & Pollution

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Dare to Breathe
ByDuende May 19, 2026June 18, 2026

May is Clean Air Month, but nearly half of Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, and people of color and low‑income communities are impacted the most. Our communities deserve clean air; it’s not a privilege – it’s a human right. On May 19, 2026, Clean Air for the Long Haul and the Platform for a Just Climate co-hosted a virtual briefing examining the Trump EPA’s recent rollbacks of key clean air and environmental protections and what they mean for environmental justice communities. Community leaders and experts discussed what was at stake and suggested ways to take action to protect the health and safety of frontline communities. Learn more and get involved at http://daretobreathe.org/.

Clean Air for the Long Haul is a subset of the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum, convened by WE ACT for Environmental Justice. The Platform for a Just Climate is convened by the Center for Earth, Energy, and Democracy.

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Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Coalition Members | Community-led Climate Solutions | Defending Our Climate Future | Energy Policy | Health Equity | Members of Congress | Policy Research & Advocacy

Federal Fire, Local Heat: Uplifting Just Climate Solutions at Congressional Earth Day Event
ByDuende April 22, 2026June 19, 2026

The House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) hosted an Earth Day 2026 strategy session and press conference titled Federal Fire, Local Heat at the US Capitol. Members of Congress, climate leaders, and frontline organizers came together for an Earth Day 2026 strategy session to align priorities in the face of federal rollbacks and policies that protect polluters. Dalal Aboulhosn, Managing Director for Programs and Policy at the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED), convener of the Platform for a Justice Climate, spoke alongside other climate justice leaders and members of Congress like Rep. Adelita Grijalva and Sen. Ed Markey. Watch and read Dalal’s remarks at Federal Fire, Local Heat below.

Read More Federal Fire, Local Heat: Uplifting Just Climate Solutions at Congressional Earth Day Event
Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Congressional Budget | EPA | Health Equity | Policy Research & Advocacy

Trump’s EPA Budget Plan Dismantles Health & Community Protections While Bankrolling Polluters
ByDuende April 17, 2026June 18, 2026

President Trump’s FY 27 budget plan guts investments in community health and well-being while bankrolling polluters. The EPA budget cuts would make communities, children, and families sicker, while allowing corporate polluters to emit toxic chemicals and pollution tied to cancer, heart disease, asthma, developmental harms, and premature death into our air, water, and food.

Read More Trump’s EPA Budget Plan Dismantles Health & Community Protections While Bankrolling Polluters
Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Congressional Budget | Defending Our Climate Future | Energy Policy | Health Equity | Members of Congress

Fact Sheet: FY27 President’s Budget Request
ByDuende April 4, 2026June 24, 2026

President Trump released his FY27 budget plan on April 3rd, 2026. While the budget plan is not law, it sets the stage for debate in Congress over appropriation bills that determine how much funding each department, federal agency, or program covering different sectors (defense, education, environmental protection) receives and under what conditions. The budget plan tells us what this Administration prioritizes and how this Administration wants to spend money. Read the full fact sheet to learn more.

Read More Fact Sheet: FY27 President’s Budget Request
Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Carbon Pollution Standards | EPA | Health Equity | Policy Research & Advocacy

The Trump Admin Rolls Back Limits to Toxic Air Pollution from Power Plants: Fact Sheet
ByDuende February 25, 2026June 16, 2026

On Friday, February 20, 2026, the Trump administration announced it is rolling back clean air regulations that limit mercury and other hazardous pollutants from power plants. The rollback will lead to greater emissions of mercury, heavy metals, and increase the risk of cancer, lung, and heart disease for communities living near coal power plants.

Read More The Trump Admin Rolls Back Limits to Toxic Air Pollution from Power Plants: Fact Sheet
Air Quality & Pollution | Carbon Pollution Standards | Coalition Members | Cumulative Impacts | Defending Our Climate Future | EPA | Platform Signatories

Fact Sheet: Trump Admin Rolls Back Limits to Air Pollution from Power Plants (Mercury & Air Toxics Standards)
ByDuende February 20, 2026June 24, 2026

Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) limit the amount of mercury and other toxic
emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants. On Friday, February 20, 2026, the Trump administration announced it is rolling back clean
air regulations limiting mercury and other hazardous toxins from power plants. The
rollback will lead to greater emissions of mercury, heavy metals, and increase the risk of
cancer, lung, and heart disease for communities living near coal power plants. Check out our fact sheet to learn more about MATS, the rollback timeline, and its impact on our communities.

Read More Fact Sheet: Trump Admin Rolls Back Limits to Air Pollution from Power Plants (Mercury & Air Toxics Standards)
Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Carbon Pollution Standards | Energy Policy | EPA | Mandatory Emissions Reductions | Policy Research & Advocacy

EJNCP Members on the EPA’s Proposal to Repeal all GHG Emission Standards
ByDuende August 21, 2025June 18, 2026

This summer, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) released a proposal to repeal all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. In response, some of the environmental justice …

Read More EJNCP Members on the EPA’s Proposal to Repeal all GHG Emission Standards
Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Coalition Members | Communications & Narrative Building | Community-led Climate Solutions | Cumulative Impacts | Health Equity | Inflation Reduction Act | Justice40

“Clean Up To Green Up”: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and Brighter Future in Detroit
ByDuende March 12, 2024June 18, 2026

Industrial facilities are most often located in or near Black, Latino, Indigenous and low-income communities, exposing residents to disproportionately high levels of pollution, public health risks and hazardous working conditions. Donele Wilkins created the Green Door Initiative after experiencing the impact of these inequities in her community in Detroit.

Read More “Clean Up To Green Up”: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and Brighter Future in Detroit
Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Coalition Members | Communications & Narrative Building | Community-led Climate Solutions | Inflation Reduction Act

Securing Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthy Environment for All
ByDuende February 12, 2024June 18, 2026

Harold Mitchell’s firsthand experience with pollution’s dire effects in Spartanburg, South Carolina, inspired him to establish the ReGenesis Institute and ignited a movement for change. The success and lessons learned in Spartanburg are guiding ReGenesis in their efforts to expand their model of community engagement and restoration to other communities, by leveraging the groundbreaking investments from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Critical investments in environmental justice are not just addressing past and ongoing harms but also empowering communities with resources to improve public health, lives, and livelihoods in front-line communities.

Read More Securing Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthy Environment for All
Air Quality & Pollution | Building Just Climate Futures | Carbon Pollution Standards | Energy Policy | EPA | Mandatory Emissions Reductions | Policy Research & Advocacy

EPA’s Proposed New Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants will fail to protect EJ communities
ByDuende August 8, 2023June 16, 2026

The Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School, the Center for the Urban Environment of the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University, the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA), and the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy, along with 18 environmental justice and 9 allied organizations are submitting public comments today on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s proposed carbon pollution standards for coal and new natural gas fired power plants.

Read More EPA’s Proposed New Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants will fail to protect EJ communities

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