We seek a Just Transition away from an extraction-based economy to one centered on ecological restoration, community resilience, and social equity, fueled by regenerative resources and cooperative work, governed by deep democracy, and a culture of caring and sacredness.
Our 2023 Legislative Agenda
There is a lot on the line as the Washington State Legislature heads into a long legislative session where they will be creating a new two-year budget for Washington, responding to climate and environmental challenges, and tackling other issues related to housing, homelessness, and the ongoing mental health crisis.
LATEST UPDATE:
Thanks in part to the advocacy and expertise of our frontline communities, both the state House and Senate have released two-year budget proposals that include funding for some important frontline priorities, including $10 million for climate-impacted workers, $5 million to build environmental justice into local planning, and $300,000 to start creating a statewide energy assistance program.
However, there’s a glaring problem. The HEAL Act and Climate Commitment Act (CCA) require that at least 35% and a goal of 40% of climate and environmental funds to benefit overburdened communities—those of us who experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks. Yet the budgets released fall far short as written.
Meanwhile, $30 million for hydrogen fueling stations and $50 million for industries that are “hard to decarbonize” are claimed as being environmental justice. If our communities were building a state budget designed to address the needs of those hit first and worst by environmental harms and risks, this is not what they would have come up with.
Please take two minutes to email your legislators and ask them to invest our communities!
Our HEAL Progress Report is now live!
Thanks to the mobilization and determination of our coalition members and frontline communities, Front and Centered secured $400,000 to shape implementation of the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act and create an Environmental Justice Community Participation Fund! These funds were awarded through the Department of Health and we’re excited to grant them to community-based organizations around Washington State.
The HEAL Act is groundbreaking legislation, but its promise will only be realized if frontline communities make sure our shared vision is realized throughout implementation. We know it’s not environmental justice if the communities most impacted aren’t resourced and participating.
In our HEAL Progress Report: Seeding the Culture and Building the Structures for a Just Transition through Washington’s Landmark Law on Environmental Justice, Front and Centered assesses HEAL implementation so far, identifies key challenges in that process, and provides clear recommendations for moving forward and realizing the vision of the HEAL Act.
In a new report, Exposing False Solutions: How Washington’s Cap and Trade Program Gives Industrial Polluters a Free Pass, Front and Centered explores our state’s cap-and-trade scheme which provides allowances to many of Washington’s biggest polluters and its impacts on our communities.
In a new report, A Transportation Justice Agenda for Washington State, Front and Centered is proposing a sweeping agenda for justice to reorient the way we invest our transportation dollars and prioritize safety with clear standards for improving transit and safe sidewalks and crosswalks.
The report also features some information from the Washington Transit Access Map, which just launched today!
Read our latest Energy Justice blog!
In 2019, we helped write and pass the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) to transition Washington State to 100% clean electricity over the next two decades. Three years on, electric utilities have made halting progress in advancing the stated goals to equitably transition to 100% clean electricity for Washington consumers.
On August 17, Front and Centered held a virtual briefing called Energy Justice—How Do We Fulfill CETA’s Promise? to bring awareness to the CETA implementation process and our efforts to center equity.
Check out our latest Energy Justice blog to find updates and watch the full briefing!
FrontLINE
IDEAS
COMMUNITY REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
In Washington and across the country, a person’s race, even more than their income, is the most important factor that determines how their health is impacted by climate change and pollution. As highlighted by the frontline voices in our report, Community Report on Environmental Justice, environmental justice (EJ) can be achieved by directing the focus of state agencies to the communities most impacted. The findings of our community report, which helped inform the landmark Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act, offer a firsthand account of how human health is impacted by pollution and climate impacts, and how it can be improved by government focus.
Just Movement Community Report –
Transitioning Transportation in Washington State
Transportation makes up 40% of Washington GHG pollution and is a core contributor to the disproportionate impacts of pollution in Washington State, the most overburdened communities being disportionately communities of color. These impacts literally take years off our lives. Through Front and Centered statewide listening sessions and surveys, Washington’s communities of color named air quality and health, and increasing the quantity and quality of public transit as priorities for action.
— JOIN US —
VIRTUAL COMMUNITY BRIEFING
APRIL 9, 2021 – 1:00 PM
Our View from the Frontlines:
What are the Gaps Between
Policy and Practice During this Pandemic?
PART 3
Our view from the Frontlines:
What are the Gaps Between Policy and Practice
During this Pandemic?
Front and Centered
Action
Read Our Blog
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW
This year was a near breaking point for our frontline communities.
Front and Centered invites you to see, hear, and feel how we look back at 2020 with perspective, and look forward to 2021 with possibilities.
Thank you for all you do to keep the intersection of racial equity and environmental justice front and centered.
FRONTLINE RESPONSE
FUND
FRONTLINE RESPONSE FUND
Front and Centered, a coalition of over 60 grassroots organizations based in and led by communities of color, has created a Frontline Response Fund to provide immediate and direct assistance for our grantees working to respond to the crisis throughout Washington State due to the financial, social and health impacts of COVID-19 and wildfires.
