National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program (NEJC) 2024

Climate change affects everyone, but it exacerbates existing inequities in disadvantaged communities, which are disproportionately affected by pollution, flooding, drought, and other impacts. The 2024 National Environmental Justice Conference and Training Program brings together community members, academia, the private sector and federal, state, and local officials to examine the state of environmental justice and share best practices. The theme of this year’s conference is “Providing Equitable and Just Access to a Healthy, Sustainable, and Resilient Environment.” 

Abt brings more than 25 years of experience working with environmental policymakers, organizations, and impacted communities to advance environmental justice. Working side-by-side with government agencies and affected communities, we apply our expertise in multi-disciplinary data integration, predictive modeling, and analytics to develop actionable tools that lead to real solutions.  

Panel Presentation: Current and Future Environmental Impact Analysis Tools   
Wednesday, April 17 from 11am – 12pm EST   
Room 147A 

This workshop will provide training on tools from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to help community-based organizations (CBOs), governments, and other stakeholders in environmental justice communities assess environmental impact. First, the training will discuss current U.S. EPA tools that may be helpful to CBOs, including the Toxics Release Inventory, Environmental Justice (EJ) Screen, and Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). Next, the panel will provide information about other U.S. EPA tools, such as the Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID), National Emissions Inventory, and CO-Benefits Risk Assessment Health Impacts Screening and Mapping Tool (COBRA), that policymakers can use to assess environmental and health impacts. 

The workshop will also provide an overview of new tools recently completed and those under development under EPA’s Community Change Grant program, a $2 billion program which will assist environmental justice communities reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. 

James Schroll, Associate, Abt Global (Moderator)
Jonathan Dorn, Senior Associate, Abt Global (Panelist)
TJ Pepping, Associate, Abt Global (Panelist)
Sarah McGrath, Data Analyst, Abt Global (Panelist)