WE ACT for Environmental Justice Applauds Announcement of $3 billion in Investments to Clean Ports with Over $300 Million Going to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Nov 1, 2024

  • Press Release

    • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    November 1, 2024
    Contact: Jama Joseph, jamajoseph.weact@gmail.com, (646) 951-1648

     

    This week the EPA announced that 55 applicants across 27 states and territories are to receive $3 billion to fund zero-emission technology at ports. WE ACT applauds this action as we push to eliminate Diesel Death Zones that burden communities near ports and at other shipping hubs across the county. The EPA conservatively estimates that tailpipe reductions from this new equipment will prevent over 3 million metric tons of CO2, equivalent to 391,229 homes’ energy use for one year. To add to the excitement, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) received $344,138,135 of the investments to implement the technologies. As part of this PANYNJ must implement a community benefits plan which will be of particular interest to WE ACT moving forward. Yosef Robele, Federal Policy Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice shared the following:

    “The freight system is a major contributor to Diesel Death Zones across the country. Communities near ports and other major hubs of activity are subject to disproportionate air pollution throughout this complex system that moves the goods we all use daily. This injustice must be remedied by transitioning our freight system to zero emissions as quickly as possible. We must remain diligent however to make sure the technologies we implement do not contain false solutions technologies such as fossil gas and dirty hydrogen that can undermine the benefits we’ll see from these projects. Overall, this investment to move to zero emissions at our ports is an exciting development and we look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition with the input of communities.”

     

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    WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram.