DSCEJ and Bullard Center Commit to Coalition for Green Capital’s Application to The EPA

Aug 23, 2023 | DSCEJ General News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 23, 2023
Contact: Ginger LeBlanc | media@dscej.org
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“This is a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Support Transformative Change and Accelerate a Just Transition to a Clean Economy”

New Orleans, LA – The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) welcomes new strategic partnerships with The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ). The Bullard Center, launched by the “father of environmental justice” Dr. Robert Bullard, and DSCEJ, led by Dr. Beverly Wright, an appointee of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, have committed their support to CGC’s application to seek funding from the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) and a growing coalition working to establish a national green bank.

​​​​​​​This partnership underscores CGC’s network of green banks, clean energy lenders, and community partners’ ongoing dedication to exceeding the 40% EPA investment requirement and rapid deployment throughout all low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country. In line with EPA’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and CGC’s mission, The Bullard and DSCEJ will originate community projects throughout low-income and disadvantaged communities that the national green bank can support to address local issues and generate investments towards historically underfunded projects.

“We’re thrilled to have the support of the nation’s leading environmental justice champions as we apply for the EPA’s remaining $20 Billion of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund,” said Reed Hundt, chairman of the board and CEO of CGC. “To confront the climate crisis and advance the Administration’s vision of transitioning to a clean economy, our approach must maximize investments in low-income and disadvantaged communities. These environmental justice leaders are confident in our network’s ability to make historic progress for and with communities that need it most.

“We are honored to have the Bullard Center and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice support both of our NCIF and CCIA applications to the EPA,” said Eli Hopson, executive director and COO of CGC. “This partnership will deepen our equitable impact in LIDCs and empower communities to actively participate in the transition.”

“We’ve decided to partner with the Coalition for Green Capital in its EPA proposal for funding a National Green Bank Network to deliver clean energy projects in low and moderate-income communities served by our HBCUs,” said Dr. Robert D. Bullard, Director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University and Co-Chair of the HBCU Climate Change Consortium. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to support transformative change and accelerate a just transition to a clean economy by providing billions of investment dollars to our institutions, businesses, community leaders, non-profits, and communities that too often get left out and left behind.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s historic commitment of federal investments in environmental justice solutions have the potential to transform and revitalize communities after decades of devastation from pollution and environmental racism,” said Dr. Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, whose organization was also recently awarded a $13M grant through a partnership between EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy to house Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers. “The Justice40 Initiative delivers efficient and renewable energy, flood protection, workforce development, home weatherization, and other benefits to communities that have suffered for so long. We are excited to partner with the Coalition for Green Capital to expand these funding opportunities in collaboration with environmental justice communities across America.”

“Environmental justice must be a top priority as we seek to unlock billions and accelerate clean energy investments across the country,” said William J. Barber III, Director of Equitable Investments and Energy Justice at CGC. “Our partnership with the Bullard Center and the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, possess both the scholarship and the trusted relationships in frontline communities to enable us to successfully engage and center their needs in the deployment of technologies, and make this transition one that is done by and with communities, not to them nor on their behalf.”

CGC has announced similar partnerships with Dream.Org’s Green For All; Michigan Saves; Colorado Clean Energy Fund; Missouri Green Bank; Puerto Rico Green Energy Trust; Finance New Orleans; the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA); CleanSource Capital; the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank; Columbus Region Green Fund (CRGF); Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF); the Climate Access Fund; Clean Energy Fund of Texas; Growth Opportunity Partners, Inc.; the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA); DC Green Bank, Connecticut Green Bank, the Inter-Tribal Trade Consortium (ITTC) and Enervee.

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ABOUT THE DEEP SOUTH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice provides opportunities for communities, scientific researchers, and decision-makers to collaborate on projects that promote the rights of all people to be free from environmental harm as it impacts health, jobs, housing, education, and general quality of life.  A major goal of the Center continues to be the development of leaders in communities of color along the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and the broader Gulf Coast Region that are disproportionately harmed by pollution and vulnerable to climate change. For more information, visit https://www.dscej.org.

ABOUT THE BULLARD CENTER
The Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University was launched to address longstanding issues of systemic inequality and structural racism that cause disproportionate pain, suffering, and death in Black and other people of color communities faced with environmental and climate justice concerns. Texas Southern University is a student-centered comprehensive doctoral university committed to ensuring equality, offering innovative programs that are responsive to its urban setting, and transforming diverse students into lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and creative leaders in their local, national, and global communities. To learn more or get involved, visit https://www.bullardcenter.org.

ABOUT COALITION FOR GREEN CAPITAL
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC), doing business as the American Green Bank Consortium, is a 501(c)(3) chartered specifically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution and redress climate and energy-related environmental injustice. Green banks are a proven finance model that uses public and philanthropic funds to mobilize private investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other decarbonization technologies. For over a decade, the Coalition for Green Capital has led the Green Bank movement, working at the federal, state, and local levels in the U.S. and countries around the world. For more information, visit: https://coalitionforgreencapital.com.