The Achieving Justice Through Climate Mitigation Project is an ongoing research collaborative undertaken in partnership with three centers, the Tishman Environment & Design Center at The New School, the Center for Earth Energy and Democracy, and the Watson Institute for Urban Environmental Policy at Thomas Edison State University. The purpose of this partnership is to enrich the empirical case for integrating environmental justice considerations into climate mitigation policies at the state and national level. Increasing attention is turning to the critical role that states can play in implementing climate mitigation strategies that can reduce the United States' contribution to climate change. While the federal government is abdicating all leadership on climate policy nationally and internationally, states will be important testing grounds for climate mitigation and related energy policies.

This "research-action" project posits that environmental justice should be embedded in climate mitigation policies as a central goal and focus. Specifically, we propose examining in depth the environmental justice implications of climate mitigation and energy policies based on two key indicators: 1. Emissions reductions potential at the source of carbon emissions, and 2. The impact on and access to energy efficiency and renewable energy investments by environmental justice communities. We are currently focusing our efforts on Delaware, Minnesota and New Jersey, three states where our principle investigators have extensive experience and a network of on-the-ground environmental justice advocates.