Beveridge & Diamond Principal Stacey Sublett Halliday (San Francisco) was quoted about environmental justice in a Law360 article, "What Biden's Climate Finance Order Means For Energy Cos.," that examines the possible effects of President Joe Biden's May 20, 2021 executive order directing the government to evaluate the economic risks climate change poses.

Stacey commented that the White House may force energy companies to disclose more regarding their impact on disadvantaged communities, and that information gained from these disclosures might be used to ensure that affected areas benefit from focused climate change-related spending.

"Disclosures are one way of … understanding what the impacts are," she said, explaining that environmental justice had not previously been a focus of energy companies' disclosures.

"I think the energy sector is really going to bear a lot of the brunt of that scrutiny from this administration," Stacey said. "Particularly with respect to energy, there is a huge footprint" in disproportionately affected communities.

Stacey explained that this new focus on environmental justice may make it more difficult for energy companies to construct new facilities in some disproportionately affected areas. She also noted an increase in state-level environmental justice legislation, citing New Jersey's 2020 mandate of increased scrutiny for new projects that might disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities.

Stacey goes on to discuss the energy industry’s efforts to comply with the executive order. “The process of getting greener can’t take place overnight, but companies that are making gradual shifts are still under pressure to do more,” she said.