Raise Green has the potential to play an important role in the implementation of this intersectional policy.
Environmental and social injustice have long been intertwined. Racial minorities are disproportionately exposed to toxic pollutants because more vulnerable communities are unable to fight to keep powerful fossil fuel production facilities and other highly-polluting industrial corporations out of their neighborhoods. Redlined communities have significantly less tree cover than neighboring predominantly white communities, which can mean ten degree temperature differences within the same zip code. Marginalized communities are the communities that struggle the most to recover in the aftermath of natural disasters that have been exacerbated by rising temperatures.
Climate change only serves to worsen existing inequalities, which is why social justice must come hand and hand with environmental justice.
Justice40 initiative — President Biden’s promise to ensure that 40 percent of overall benefits from the Federal government’s climate and clean energy investment goes to disadvantaged and marginalized communities — aims to do just that.
The Justice40 initiative identifies 21 priority programs, including the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which provides guaranteed loans and grants to rural agricultural producers and small businesses to help them implement renewable energy systems or increase energy efficiency. A REAP grant can be anywhere from $1,500 to $500,000, depending on what it’s going towards.
However, REAP Applicants must provide at least 75 percent of the project cost if applying for a grant and at least 25% of project cost if applying for a loan.
That’s where Raise Green comes in.
Crowdfunding on the Raise Green Marketplace is a powerful way to raise the necessary capital for your project that REAP doesn’t cover. Through the platform, anyone can be an originator of their own environmentally-impactful project. Raise Green provides education and guidance throughout the entire process, making the process significantly simpler and more streamlined.
Besides offering a crucial source of finance for Rural Energy for America Program participants, Raise Green is also looking forward to providing insight and comments to the team that’s building the Justice40 Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.
The screening tool aims to provide critical information about disadvantaged communities to agencies in order to inform their work on Justice40 programs.
Raise Green stands behind Justice 40 and looks forward to buttressing its programs in any way that it can.
Justice40 marks an important turning point in US climate policy, and Raise Green can certainly play a pivotal role in this transition to socially-aware climate policy and programs.
Read more about Justice40 here.
Interested in being a REAP applicant and in need of funding for your project? Fill out our Welcome Survey to get started, and check out the Raise Green Originator Program to learn more.
Interested in making an impact investment into environmentally impactful projects? Invest in the future on the Raise Green marketplace.
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This Blog is for discussion purposes only, expresses the views of Raise Green, and is not investment research. This is not investment or tax advice, and does not constitute a solicitation to sell or an offer to buy any securities. Certain information is from or links are to third party sources. Although they are believed to be reliable, we do not guarantee their accuracy, completeness or fairness. Raise Green is a licensed Funding Portal with the SEC and FINRA, and is not a Municipal Advisor. Prior to being approved to list a company on the Raise Green portal, a diligence review is completed. Prior to investing. investors must sign up for an account on the portal. Raise Green does not provide tax, accounting or legal advice. Investing in crowdfunded offerings involves risk and you should review the risks of a particular investment prior to investing. You are strongly encouraged to consult your professional advisors before investing. Go to www.raisegreen.com for additional information on services, the funding portal, regulation, and investment risks. Or, direct inquiries to info@raisegreen.com. Copyright © 2021